Oh, bad, bad Stephanie. I am soooo cheating on my blog with a new (equally, fabulously) narcissistic online addiction - Facebook! Help, my friend Maud "friended" me and it's been all (fun, decadent) downhill ever since! Here I am, on a beautiful, sunny Labor Day - at my computer. And loving it, what can I say? Throw in some gougere (recipe posted in comments below) and champagne and it is a damn fine day. A movie in awhile, then, later, a buttery roast chicken, sliced tomatoes, and brie, all washed down with a sick white Burgundy... And some more Facebook for dessert. Dang. Nice.

And nice to be chillin' because we had a HUGE night at Debbie & Stu The Wine Genius' lovely home last night. Rudy & Ana were there too, another Team Napa Reunion. So fabulous. Mountains of farmers' market tomatoes, with cheese and herbs as a starter, then in a gorgeous soup with a floating gougere as a first course (yep, that's where I got the gougere inspiration for today), alongside perfectly creamy risotto and grilled grass-fed-beef steaks for our main. Lovely and merry, and then of course, the wine...Harlan Estate jewels, the likes of which only exist in (rare) smart, deep, fascinating cellars like Stu's. I would never drink these wines if not for Stu so generously sharing them with us, what a treat. Thank you, my friend! It's very well appreciated! We of course toasted Stu's recent summit of Grand Teton (yeah, even though he's a serious eater/drinker, he's a serious biker/climber too, sooo not fair).

Dinners like that just kill me (in a good way) because I'm so buzzy and jazzed from all the social and palate-tickling stimulation (aka Stephanie Sensory Overload) that when I get home I just can't go straight to bed. Hell no! I have to blog, or...now...screw around on Facebook. And stay up way too late. And be worthless the next day - in a good, cozy, lazy way. Lord help me.

I hope you're all enjoying your last summer weekend, too. It's gorgeous here in Minnesota, and in NYC (according to my bro-in-law Tom), how about where you are? Soak it up, my friends. It's been a special one.