Fun To Go

Girl Scouts are cool. A few weeks ago I received a calendar listing for the “Cookie Creations” benefit event at Boston’s  Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel on January 28  for the Girl Scouts of Eastern  Massachusetts. Seven Boston-area celebrity chefs were competing in a cook-off using Girl Scout cookies as an ingredient to make original dishes. The crowd samples each of the creations and chooses their favorite. Celebrity judges Kennedy from Mix 104 and Jenny Johnson from NECN’s  TV Diner and Dream Home were hosting. The  money raised by the benefit supports the Girl Scouts and kicks-off the local Girl Scout cookie selling season.

My 13-year-old daughter is a Girl Scout- and  has been since kindergarten. Over the years there have been sleepovers at the Museum of Science, International Dinners, Encampments at Girl Scout headquarters in Waltham, and seemingly endless winter weeks of cookie selling. But she is at the age  now where some of her peers scoff at Girl Scouts.

Rare that my life as a writer meshes with my life as a Mom. With approval of our troop leader, I sent out an email for a  ”Mom and Girl’s Night Out For Troop 3450.” It was a school night, but  it turned out that six of us could attend.  In  the lobby of the Copley Plaza Hotel, the girls met the very famous “Catie Copley” , the hotel’s resident  black Labrador and the subject of two children’s story books.  Moms and girls nibbled on crudite and cheese as a prelude to the very serious businessss of tasting each of the seven very  fancy desserts created for judging.  There was a peanut butter cheesecake with butterscotch sauce from Tremont 647, Caramel Delite Cupcakes from Sommerville’s Kick *ss Cupcakes (my personal favorite!)  a layered Lemonade Pushpop  from Aura at the Seaport Hotel, and more.  We hob-nobbed with the famous. I met Chef Rachel Klein, “Are you the Rachel Klein” I asked as I shook her hand.”I just wrote about your Fine Dining , Family Style event for Parents and Kids.” My daughter met Jenny Johnson, who was super-friendly, asking her about school and Girl Scouts.  The event was very well-attended; and many in the crowd were young, professional girls- just the sort of person you want your teenage girl to emulate.

The girls had a blast  at “Cookie Creations”, it was all the talk at the next troop meeting. For the adults, the evening was about as much fun as a Mom could have on a Thursday night. Seems like Troop 3450 will be back next year!