Yvonneka’s Foundation is a non-profit foundation that is dedicating to bettering the life of dogs, but once a year Yvonne, the owner, puts together a big dinner and show FUNdraiser to raise money and continue doing what they’re doing.
I’ll get to talking about the actual dinner in a bit, but for now I wanna talk about what the foundation does. Basically they recue dogs from the streets or in-proper or abusive homes to be taken to Puppy Paradise, where they are fed, given water, taken care of medically, and later on shipped to a foundation called Saving Great Animals in Seattle and go to an immediate foster home until they are adopted. Puppy Paradise is a three-story house with a giant yard that was all built specifically for the dogs. So, the dogs have a whole house to their selves except for a couple employees who are always there to feed, water, bathe the dogs, and make sure they don’t fight, since they are never locked up and always running around and playing.
But, Yvonne doesn’t only have the Puppy Paradise, but she also has Casa Yvonneka, whish is a beautiful 8 story, 12 bedroom house that she rents out. Though for the night of her annual FUNdraiser, December 11, she held it here. It started at 6:30 pm with an open bar and a few different options for snacks including bacon-wrapped jalapeño poppers, shrimp with cocktail sauce, and what I think was brie, raisin, and walnut stuffed puff pastry served on crackers. I’m actually not sure what it was, but I found a recipe that sounds quite similar, and looks similar too. The poppers were super good, but they weren’t very spicy at all since the seeds were all taken out of them. And, I didn’t taste the shrimp, but my dad did, and he said that whoever cooked the shrimp did an excellent job, because it was obvious that they didn't cook them all the way and then dunked them straight into cold water, because that would've made them super tough, but in reality they were very tender and nice. The puff pastry thing was very interesting, to say the least, and it was a perfect mixture of sweet and savory, though without the crackers I don’t think it would have been as good, at it would’ve been too sweet from the puff pastry and raisins.
After the drinks and snacks at about 7:30 or 7:40 it was dinner time, and we actually got to sit at a table that was on the stage, which was the VIP one, right next to all the performers while we ate! We were so surprised when we saw which table it was, and we were wondering why we got on the VIP list and at the VIP table. It was so cool, though! We really enjoyed it! Thank you, Yvonne, for the tickets, for the lovely seats, and for the delicious meal!
The entrée was chiles rellenos, and they were actually probably the best chiles rellenos I’ve had. Not only were there a variety of spices on the inside such as basil and maybe some oregano, but it was also in a delicate tomato sauce that was also quite spice-y, though not spicy, and it had chopped bell peppers on top that added a teeny bit of spiciness as well as some crispness. They were really, really good.
Next we got asked if we wanted chicken or steak for the main plate, and both my dad and me said steak. The plates had two thick-ish pieces of steak as well as cooked broccoli, cauliflower, and baby carrots, and then there were a couple potatoes. There was also a drizzle of honey mustard on the plate. So, we basically got steak and potatoes! I like my steak rare, so it was a little over-cooked for me, but either way it had pretty good flavor, though I did have to add some salt. And the potatoes and vegetables were all cooked perfectly because they were the perfect amount of crispness but they also weren’t not cooked, and they too were quite good.
Lastly we got out dessert, which was cheesecake with chocolate and caramel on top. And, it was sooooo good. It was really really creamy while also being pretty dense, and it wasn’t super sweet; it had a strong cream cheese flavor. But, the drizzles on top added a really nice sweetness, and the chunks of chocolate added some bitterness, so it was very balanced and super yummy. And, my dad doesn’t like sweets so he only had a bite, but he also said it was really good! But, I couldn’t have it either since I was so full form all the food.
But, like I said there were performers, so as we were eating there was dancing, singing, auctioning items, and raffles going on. It started with a drag queen, Stevie Hart, and she sang for a little bit, but then she transitioned into auctioning some beautiful necklaces, earrings, and even a ring. Then every so often another singer or dancer would come up, and then Stevie would go back to auctioning. Ana Maria sung a couple different times, and a man called Enrique did as well. They both have amazing voices! Also, Ana Maria bought a necklace, then re-donated it to be auctioned out, and after that another woman bought it and re-donated it to be auctioned out for a third time, where it finally got genuinely bought.
All in all this was an amazing experience, with delicious food, and the all the performers were so cool. I had an amazing time, and I’m so glad I got invited. I’m also so glad that everything gained from this event is going towards helping more doggies and letting Yvonneka’s Foundation continuing doing what they’re doing! And remember this year, just like the last year a party was held (2019), all the tickets got sold out, so if you want to come tot his next year, make sure to buy a ticker early!
Yvonneka's Foundation Facebook
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