$1 Million in Jewels Make Diamond Dinner at Houston Doctor’s House Sparkle

Generous and lucky the 20 “Heart Ball” guests who back in February quickly booked the $1,000 a plate dinner to be hosted this month in the Tanglewood home of pediatric heart surgeon Dr. Jorge Salazar and his stunning wife, April. Not only were they in store for a magical evening but also one lucky guest would win a $27,000 pair of diamond earrings, contributed by Tenenbaum Jewelers.

The $20,000 might have been a mere splash in the bucket of the $2.3 million that the “Heart Ball” earned for the American Heart Association. But surely it was among the most glamorous fundraising enticement of that heady night.

Appropriately themed “Diamond Dinner,” the evening featured not only the 6.20 ct. diamond cluster dangle earrings set in platinum but also $1 million worth of bling from Tenenbaum lighting up the dinner table. So while guests supped on private chef and caterer Will Springfield’s four-course dinner, they were lavishly entertained by the display of diamond jewelry, cufflinks, timepieces and more, all shimmering atop mirrored bases and Buccellati silver dishes.

Following an array of passed hors d’oeuvres, the menu included arugula baby spinach and hearts of palm salad with parmesan cheese crisps, a main course of seared sea scallops atop parmesan couscous with white wine lemon basil cream and petit Wagyu filet cooked in duck fat and served atop red/black kale with port and fig jam sauce, and a trio of sweets for dessert — lemon tartlets, chocolate ganache mousse and key lime meringue tartlets.

(You might recall chef Springfield as a media personality for H.E.B. and as a chef for Jackson and Company for more than 18 years.)

The evening’s entertainment included a flamenco performance and dinner music by a harpist. Guests were invited to peruse the Salazar home and gardens where the swimming pool was adorned with floating candles and roses. Equally adorned for the evening, April wore a PatBo summer frock from Tootsies while Jorge dressed to impress in a Zegna suit. April also sported the Tenenbaum diamond earrings throughout dinner and until the evening’s conclusion when Joanne Houck won them in a drawing.

The Salazar’s interest in raising funds for the American Heart Association stems from his work as the co-director of the Children’s Heart Center at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital and as professor and chief of the division of Pediatric & Congenital Heart Surgery at the McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center.

Dining in style: Vicki and John Crum, Judy and Russ Labrasca, Roslyn Bazzelle Mitchell, Jose and Teresa Ivo, Tim Singletary, Jan Wagner, Sherri Tanner, Alisha Harrell, Sandy and Gerry Scott, Emily and Mike McGetrick, Kirstin Luby, Yara El-Sayed, and Tenenbaum’s Christina Stith.