the moderate epicurean

a quest for measured pleasure...

Monday, August 28, 2006

Well, I'm sorry to say that I clearly missed greatness last night at Susan & Louis Ainsworth's dinner for Genie & Joe Dixon, Debbie & Stu Williams, Ana Scofield & Rudy Maxa, Annamarie & Karl Rigelman, and my Johnny. I fell asleep before John got home (beer + sun + Stephanie = one tired momma), so only got the details this a.m. (I'm using the word "details" pretty loosely; Stu filled in most of the specifics since that's not, um, John's forte). The highlights...ratatouille, shrimp, bruschetta, and a pear, gorgonzola, portobello, and rosemary pizza for appetizers. Main course of lamb with a red pepper coulis. Dessert cheeses including Shropeshire blue, a goat milk brie, and brie d'Affinois. Of course, plenty (!) of fabulous wine including a 1971 Ch. Rayne-Vigne sauterne (rrrrrrar!) as well as 1990 Diamond Creek Gravely Meadow, Red Rock Terrace, and Volcanic Hill, en magnum. Beautiful setting (Sue & Lou's newly remodeled home, which John said is both stunning and comfortable, good combo), great conversation, amazing food and wine; in sum, John had a relaxing, charmed, late-summer evening..and I missed the whole damn thing. Damn! When is the next? I'm THERE.

Tonight, nothing nearly that lovely, I'm rather sad to say. I had a boatload of carrots in the cooler from my CSA veggie share so made a pretty and tasty carrot soup (recipe in comments, below). With a ripe garden tomato salad and a tuna sandwich on rye, it all made a light, simple summer din.

The sun's supposed to shine tomorrow, my friends. In this last week of summer, I'm hoping for long swims with my boy, as well as after-dinner walks (before he has homework each night), shooting some baskets, maybe hitting a few tennis balls together. Summer's last hurrah! And I'm the only one who will miss it - Nathan's favorite season is winter, the darker the better. A Minnesotan, that one, yes he is.

1 Comments:

At 12:13 PM, Blogger Stephanie said...

This is a simple vegetable soup technique, very flexible. Basically, trim and chop a cup of carrots per serving. Saute some onion and garlic in olive oil, add the carrots, add enough chicken broth (or water) to cover, and simmer, covered, until carrots are tender. Puree in a blender in batches, stir in some cream (and additional broth to thin, if necessary), and salt, pepper, and generous fresh herbs to taste. Dill is nice, so is basil. Eat hot or cold. Enjoy!

 

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