Toledo After Hours event to offer world of foods

Eclectic, fun foods will be on a global menu for the Junior League of Toledo's 2005 Toledo After Hours on Jan. 27. This year's speaker for the annual event, held at 6:30 p.m. the Stranahan Theater and Great Hall, is George Tenet, former Central Intelligence Agency director.

Among the dinner items served at stations will be low-carbohydrate Asian Lettuce Wraps. For those who have not discovered this healthy appetizer, you may find it on the menu at some Asian restaurants. Some may have seen a few recipes circulating.

Linsey Ansberg, left, and Jenny Mitchell sample Asian Lettuce Wraps, which will be served at Toledo After Hours.

Now the lettuce wrap will debut in Toledo's catering circuit, thanks to the Junior League and Gladieux Catering.

Served among the Pacific Rim Offerings, the Asian Lettuce Wraps will be colorful: radicchio, butter lettuce, and romaine leaf cups will have fillings of diced chicken in an orange hoisin sauce accented with Oriental chilies or tofu stir-fried with black mong beans, scallions, and crisp vegetables in a sweet soy and oyster sauce.

The diner simply rolls the filled lettuce leaf and eats it like a taco. "Guests can make their own Asian Lettuce Wrap. These are so popular, tasty, and different," says Linsey Ansberg, chairman of arrangements for the event. The different lettuce leaves will add to the fun.

Pacific Rim Offerings also will feature sushi: California Rolls with crab chunks, spinach and carrots, wasabi shrimp rolls, tofu and vegetable rolls rolled in roasted seaweed and topped with sesame nuts, wasabi, pickled ginger, and soy sauce for dipping.

Plus, the dim sum will include vegetable and pork pot stickers, shiitake spring rolls, and garlic ginger beef and pork dumplings, all served with scallion soy dipping sauce, plum sauce, and sesame sauce.

In addition, there will be a carving station with roasted leg of lamb and applewood smoked turkey breast. Gourmet ravioli selections include striped ravioli, mushroom and seafood ravioli, and spinach florentine ravioli accompanied with a roasted tomato basil sauce and gouda cheese sauce. Middle Eastern offerings will feature grilled and roasted vegetables arranged on garnished platters and topped with feta cheese; spinach and feta pie, and hummus, tabbouleh, baba ganoosh, and herbed cheese dip served with toasted and plain pita, A dessert station with chocolate fountains will be surrounded by fresh fruit, ladyfingers, shortbread cookies, and many other sweet morsels. The menu is upscale and eclectic.

Toledo After Hours, to be held at the Stranahan Theater and Great Hall, 4645 Heatherdowns Blvd., raises funds for the Junior League of Toledo's community service projects. Tickets are $50 for the speech and dessert; $175 for the station dining, speech, and dessert; $250 for station dining, speech, dessert, and listing in the program booklet, and $100 extra for a private reception attended by Mr. Tenet prior to the cocktail dinner.

The deadline for tickets is Jan. 20. For information on purchasing tickets, call the Junior League of Toledo at 419-534-3138. Jenny Mitchell is the chairman of the Toledo After Hours event; Terri Braun is the president of Junior League of Toledo.

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