Last night we held our Food For Free fundraiser kick-off party. Every February we donate 5% of our sales to this great local charity that rescues produce from wholesalers, grocery stores, farms, farmers’ markets, and CSAs, and distributes it to over 74 food pantries in Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville, as well as the homes of low-income elderly and disabled patrons who are unable to make it the food banks to get the produce they need to stay well-fed and healthy. It was a cold night and there were (and are) still mountains of snow on the ground from our recent barrage of blizzards, but a great crowd came out to enjoy wine and food served up by Robert Harris of Season to Taste Catering.

Although this is Didriks' third year donating a portion of our sales to Food For Free and we work with Robert Harris on the Dinner Series, we all don't get together nearly as much as we like. Evenings like this are a true pleasure to socialize with delicious food and plenty of wine. We hope this year's fundraiser is a huge success as Food For Free's mission to provide healthy food to those who need it most is more important than ever.

Harris put out a delicious spread that started with white bean; spinach, bacon, and cream cheese; and roasted red pepper with caramelized onions and balsamic spreads. For those of use that didn't fill up on bread and spreads, there were small pulled pork sandwiches with caramelized onions; crostinis topped with goat cheese, beets, and a garden pea stew with herbs; and shredded chicken served on homemade potato chips with a tangy caramel balsamic sauce. Succulent homemade chocolate truffles rounded everything off.

See more pictures on the Dinner Series' Flickr.