Haven't posted for a couple of days - minor crisis here on Wednesday night, I was thisclose to wrapping up a post, when John and Nathan realized our dog Sigmund had disappeared. Sigs, or Roo as we call him (pictured here), is an old guy now - 13 years old, almost 14. He (almost) never leaves our yard, at least not in the last couple of years. So we set out, at 9:30 p.m., combing the neighborhood looking for him. For HOURS. John was still out looking for him, at midnight, when Sigs finally came home on his own, after we'd sadly started to conclude he was, ahem, perhaps no longer of this world. I had finally calmed Nathan down and gotten him to drift off to sleep, when we heard, "ROOO!" at the door (that's the sound he makes, thus his nickname), and sure enough, he was home. Happy, wanted a treat, no worse for the wear. We have no idea where he was - as Susie said, only Roo knows...

Anyhow, when I got back to my blog posting, I had lost my internet connection, and out of frustration I just shut down to start over the next day. Which would be yesterday. But I decided to wait until today because I knew I would have something TOTALLY blog-worthy today. BIG food/wine dinner last night, a St. Innocent winery-hosted dinner at Luci Ancora in St. Paul. John and I joined major food-wine lovers Joe and Genie Dixon, and wine-genius Stu Williams (his wife Debbie was ill and couldn't make it). St. Innocent owner/founder Mark Vlossak talked interestingly about his process and thinking in making each of the seven wines we sampled, and as a major foodie and cook himself, had terrific tips about food pairings for his wines. Luci Ancora created a gorgeous tasting menu to complement the wines, the only course that wasn't spectacular was dessert. We opened with a very fresh oyster on the half shell, paired with St. Innocent Vitea Springs Pinot Gris 2003. Nice together, but the Pinot Gris really stood out with the next course, pulled pieces of tender, slow-roasted pheasant served on a homemade whole wheat cracker. Mmm...rich, chewy, crispy, an interesting and delicious combination. Next was sauteed shrimp with garlic, fennel, and dill, paired with St. Innocent Freedom Hill Pinot Blanc 2003. Beautiful together, fennel and dill (I'll tuck that idea away and use it somewhere soon), and beautiful with the Pinot Blanc. Next - no, we were not full yet, the courses were a few bites each, as they should be - was a chewy, cheesey homemade ravioli, topped with sauteed greens, paired with St. Innocent Freedom Hill Chardonnay 2002. I have to confess, I don't really enjoy what I think of as American Chardonnay (big, oaky, buttery) with food, which has unfortunately made me often pass on Chardonnay in general, but this was a fantastic Chardonnay, and interesting with the cheese and greens. AND then, my favorite course, a risotto, cooked in veal demiglace, served wtih poached foie gras. Foie gras, as I've mentioned before, oh how I love it. Luckily, John loves risotto, so I made a fantastic trade - some of my risotto for his bite of foie gras. Yay! I got two bites instead of one. Paired with two Pinot Noirs, St. Innocent Shea Pinot Noir 2003 and St. Innocent Anden Pinot Noir 2002, both so decadent with the rich foie gras and risotto, especially, to me, the Shea. Not done yet (!), we also loved the next course, roasted lamb loin with wild mushrooms and consomme, paired with a jewel, St. Innocent White Rose Pinot Noir 2003. F..a..b. Man, what a meal. Dessert was an almond-crusted savarin, didn't really work. Served with a lovely St. Innocent Brut 2000, however, so I was of course more than happy to call that glass of sparkling wine my dessert. Sigh. My kind of night - fun people, cozy setting, great food and wine... Luci Ancora was packed full of laughing, talking people; at one point I looked around and thought about how grateful I was to be there, in that place, in St. Paul, in Minnesota, in the United States, on Earth, in this universe, a little speck of merriment. And then snap, I was back to the food and wine in front of me, and I took another bite of something amazing. I learned alot, actually, I think Mark Vlossak did a nice job of describing his wines, and which elements complement which foods, I thoroughly enjoyed his remarks. Just a great night.

Today, one small note, I guess I couldn't bear to just eat any old thing, after all that fabulousness last night, so I made one of my very favorite lunches for myself. Over-easy egg, on a piece of toast, sprinkled with a little pile of chopped arugula and scallions. Generous salt and pepper. Mmmm...

One last note - I got a digital camera, woo hoo! Picture of Sigs is my first official pic, awww, Rufus, we're so glad you're still with us. We weren't ready to say goodbye...