The directors of the Community Hiking Club are a special, dedicated group of people. They work all year long to help us achieve our goals and ask for nothing in return. So, once a year, as executive director of the group, I try to do something special for them.

This year, I created a themed dinner for them featuring delicacies from the last night on the Titanic. Each guest was sent an invitation that included a boarding pass, complete with the description of an actual passenger on the Titanic.

When the guests arrived, appetizers were served on the deck (of the pool) by Intern Joe Provenzale. A dolphin swam in the pool just for fun. The appetizers included cheese and nut filled celery, spinach soufflé stuffed mushrooms, pastry wrapped olives, brie and raspberries en croute, chicken mousse in romaine lettuce, buttered artichoke hearts, marbled eggs, artichoke tapenade, and sweet tea and lemonade was served. When the Unsinkable Molly Brown arrived on the scene (my character), the champagne corks popped open.

Next, they were escorted inside to the dining room which was decked out in nautical attire complete with nautical flag plates, seahorse crystal and an aquarium filled with jellyfish on the table. The first course was shrimp diovolo, followed by cream of potato soup, home-made baguettes and an almond swirl bread. Next, the asparagus salad was served, followed by a palate cleanser. They had a choice of lemon or champagne sorbet. The entrée was an Atlantic wild salmon poached in broth and dipped in burnt butter with garden herbs. The salmon had been flown in the evening before from the East Coast.

Finally, the best to come was the dessert course. Two Paris brests were served. These pastries are a specialty from the area of Brest in France. They are like cream puffs, but instead of a puff, they are a large wreath shaped pastry filled with anything from custard to whipped cream. One was filled with chocolate whipped cream. The second one was filled with fresh strawberry whipped cream. The chocolate one was topped with a chocolate sauce and a chocolate Titanic boat. The strawberry version was topped with a white chocolate lemon truffle sauce, white chocolate icebergs and fresh strawberries.

As if that wasn’t enough thanks for the group, they also had homemade chocolate truffles and nipples of Venus (a type of chocolate-chestnut truffle popular in Europe in the 1700-1800s). This was followed with various, coffees, teas, cappuccinos and my homemade white chocolate cordials and dark chocolate cordials.

Life is too short. It’s good to indulge and celebrate once in a while. It’s good to relax and enjoy the company of other like-minded individuals. It’s good to say thanks, and good to be acknowledged. So, to my wonderful board members, I say “Thank you. Job well done. Now let’s get out there and hike and burn off all of those calories.

Guests included the following board members: Dr. Alan Pollack, club historian; Heidi Webber, treasurer; Linda Castro, secretary and camping chair; Lise Meyers, outreach coordinator; Dave Pulsifer, scheduling; Steve Ritchie, backpacking coordinator; Steve Iland, scheduling and meetup master’ Joe Provenzale, intern; and yours truly, president and executive director and cook.

We decided the Titanic never hit an iceberg. All of the guests went to the port side of the ship after dinner, and the boat just rolled over and sank. It’s as good a theory as any. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

Dianne Erskine-Hellrigel is executive director of the Community Hiking Club and president of the Santa Clara River Watershed Conservancy. Contact Dianne through communityhikingclub.org or at zuliebear@aol.com.