November 30, 2021 Lunch - Turkey Vegetable Soup with Dumplings. Dinner - prosciutto and melted Jarlsberg cheese sandwiches

November 30, 2021 Lunch - Turkey Vegetable Soup with Dumplings. Dinner - prosciutto and melted Jarlsberg cheese sandwiches 

Some days simple food’s flavor is astounding.  Today was just such a day.

It started around 9:30 when I toasted two slices of bagel, spread them with a thick layer of cream cheese, loaded them with the last six or seven slices of Gravad lax left on the first side of lax, added several thin slices of red onion and a generous spoonful of capers.  It was a luxurious breakfast in which nothing was skimped.  I drank a cup or two of the fine Chinese green tea given to me by Marty and Yo-yo. It was a joy to eat.

Then I worked until 2:30 after the market closed and my portfolio suffered a  1% loss.  I was actually encouraged by the last three days o& trading because my portfolio is still near its all time high after suffering two days of  horrendous losses in the market.  In fact the market rallied through the close into the after hours trading session and early futures for tomorrow point to a strong rally, which is consistent with the last three days of up and down movements.

I heated a bowl of Turkey and Vegetable soup with dumplings for a late lunch.  It was delicious, rather like a wonderful matzo ball soup with lots of turkey and vegetables.

I finished a letter and then drove to the bank to deposit a check.  When I returned at 4:30 I walked .75 miles.  When up I returned at 5:15 Suzette was home watching her home remodeling shows so I went to my bed and read a few pages of Comanche Empire.  

We are between refrigerators.  Our old one died and the new one will be delivered on Thursday and we had to throw out all the frozen food in the old fridge, so we are on short rations.  What we do have is lots of bread, so I decided to make two open faced sandwiches for dinner.

I toasted two slices of whole wheat sandwich bread.  I buttered each slice and lay a slice of prosciutto on each, the spread tarragon mustard and finally lay several slices of Jarlsberg cheese on each slice.  I the heated the sandwiches in the microwave to melt the cheese and enjoyed the sandwiches with a glass of water.

Suzette was more tired than hungry and went to bed early.

I stayed up to watch the Henry Gates special on PBS.  I liked it even though it was mostly a fund raising program.

I also ate a bowl of chocolate ice cream with a splash of rum and 5 maraschino cherries.

The simple food was really satisfying and rather elegant.

I hope to continue to eat more simply.  Today I was on a good dietary regimen with lots of carbs and protein.

Bon Appetit

November 28 and 29, 2021 Lunch - Turkey Vegetable and Dumpling Soup. Dinner - 28th - PPI Mu Shu Pork with Rice. 29th - Sautéed Hamburgers, onions, mushrooms, shallot, and Pasilla chili with Sautéed Zucchini and onion flavored with lemon juice.

November 28 and 29, 2021 Lunch - Turkey Vegetable and Dumpling Soup. Dinner - 28th - PPI Mu Shu Pork with Rice. 29th - Sautéed Hamburgers, onions, mushrooms, shallot, and Pasilla chili with Sautéed Zucchini and onion flavored with lemon juice.

We rested on a Sunday after our returned from Dallas. Suzette boiled the leftover Turkey carcass in the morning to make a stock and I picked the remaining meat from the boiled carcass and added that to the stock, plus we added some frozen succotash and the last flowerets from the head of cauliflower.  Suzette made dumplings, which are a lot like drop biscuits, and cooked them in the stock for a lovely lunch.  On the 29th I ate the leftover Turkey and vegetable and dumpling soup for lunch again.  

Sunday night I made rice and we heated the last of the Mu Shu Pork for dinner.

On Monday we were confronted by a disaster.  The fridge in the garage died while we were on vacation and we returned to a freezer full of rotting food that we had to throw out.  It hurt to throw out the venison, steaks, and shrimp plus so much more.

Suzette came home at 4:00 and we went to Appliance Liquidators a 4:45 and bought a new fridge to replace the one in the garage.  Tony said that the new warranties include replacement insurance of $300.00 to replace spoiled food.

It seems like every Holiday Season I must replace a major appliance.  Let’s hope this year it will be only one.

We still had frozen food in the indoor fridge, so tonight when we returned at 6:00 we thawed two hamburgers. I started chopping onion, mushrooms, garlic, and Pasilla chili that Suzette cooked in a large skillet with the hamburgers. 

I fetched a bottle of 2011 Trader Joe’s Petit Syrah, which was delicious; a light yet smooth red wine that I paid $9.99 for in October 2015.

The steak topped with sautéed mushrooms, poblano chili, shallot, and onion was delicious, and the zucchini and onion, and poblano chili flavored with the juice of 1/2 lemon was out of this world wonderful.  We made a wonderful dinner.  

After dinner I tried the new Diam orange flavored chocolate covered brittle we had bought at IKEA on Saturday, which were delicious with a sip of Calvados.

We watched two more episodes of La Brea and then the end of the football game between Washington and Seattle, which Washington won, we went to bed around 10:00.

The market had a near record drop on Friday due to the Omicron variant announcement and air travel shutdown to and from South Africa.  My portfolio would have suffered a historic loss of 2.4% except for the fact that Moderna rallied strongly and the portfolio ended Friday with a more moderate loss of 1.4%. The Dow fell over 900 points.

On Monday everything reversed and my portfolio had its best day in memory, up 2.7% to its highest level ever.  I got very excited that we might be on a breakout, but as of 4:15 Tuesday morning the Dow futures have turned down again and are down 444 points. So the roller coaster up and down Market continues and seems to have speeded up.  It is too early to determine if the Omicron variant will stop the worldwide recovery. Austria has shut down again and more countries may follow.

Bon Appetit

November 27, 2021 Lunch - at IKEA. Dinner - Mu Shu Pork

November 27, 2021 Lunch - at IKEA. Dinner - Mu Shu Pork 

We awakened at 7:00 and packed and drove to IKEA.  We went in at 10:00 when it opened. Suzette went shopping and I went to the restaurant and read until Suzette returned from shopping with a basket full of items for Christmas gifts for her employees.  We then both ate Swedish meatballs with mashed potatoes, broccoli, and lingon sylt.

We also shared a Ceaser salad and an almond torte by Diam and drank lingon juice with a touch of lemon.

It was a lot of food, but I only get to eat real Swedish food only once every year or two.

After lunch we went down stairs and we bought lots of food items.  They did not have my favorite dessert but they did have my favorite orange and elderberry marmelade. Suzette bought six gingerbread house kits and 9 chocolate bars and I bought six chocolate bars and Diam orange filled chocolates.

We then took about 45 minutes to pack everything. We had to get an extra box and shopping bag plus we filled 1/2 of Suzette’s suitcase and a small duffle bag with items.

We drove to Love Field and returned the rental car and shuttled to the terminal.  We got help taking the stuff to the ticket counter and checked four items to reduce our load to one carry on bag.

When we returned to Albuquerque we found a smart cart and were able to load all the suitcases and box and bag and duffle bag.

We called East Ocean and ordered an order of Mu Shu pork that we picked up on the way home.

We ate a couple of mandarin pancakes filled with Mu Shu pork each.  It had more cabbage and less egg than I am familiar with, but we loved having a wonderful hot meal.

We watched football. There were two or three great games.  The best game was Oklahoma State beating Oklahoma.

Suzette went to bed at 10:00 and I stayed up until midnight.

I drank several cups of green tea and later a chocolate chip cookie.

It was a great trip but we agreed it was great to be home.

Bon Appetit 

November 26, 2021 Lunch - Vanomos, Austin. Dinner - Muffuletta Sandwich at BIlly and Elaine’s

 November 26, 2021 Lunch - Vanomos, Austin. Dinner - Muffuletta Sandwich at BIlly and Elaine’s

We awakened a bit before 6:00 and showered and dressed and drove to Love Field to catch a flight to Austin to visit Dee Simpson, who has cancer.

He was doing really well, considering what he is going through.  He finished chemo two weeks ago and sat and talked for several hours with us and then drove us to one of his favorite Tex-Mex restaurants, Vanomos on Airport.  He told us it is owned by a family from McAllen, Dee’s hometown.  Dee and I ordered beef enchiladas with chile con carne.  The Chile con carne sauce was unusual.  It had a slightly sweet flavor and was really mild.  I guess it has a lot of guajillo chili in the sauce.  Also the enchiladas were topped with white queso Fresco.  The three rolled tortillas were filled with Piccadilla and the Refried beans were smooth as silk.  I loved the lunch.

Dee also ordered the beef enchiladas, but Suzette ordered tortilla Soup and fish tacos.

The fish tacos were interesting.  They were taco shells stuffed with a charcoal grilled piece of red drum.

We then returned to Dee’s house which has had a complete make over.  He took out walls on one side of the house and turned that one-half into a kitchen, family room and office and the other half he kept the original dining room, guest bedroom, bathroom, and his master bedroom with separate bath.  He also added a deck on the back of the house overlooking his garden and yard.

Dee is proud of the design changes and seems very positive in general.

When we returned to Dee’s house we we watched U Texas beat Kansas State.  I actually dozed for a while on Dee’s lovely new Italian leather sofa.  Tim Stroud came by at 3:00 and at 3:30 we started watching Iowa St. V. TCU.  Iowa State has the best tight end and one of the best running backs in the country and by the end of the 3rd quarter when Dee and Tim Drove us to the airport Iowa State was up 30 to 7 on TCU and Hall the running back had broken the college record for most consecutive games with a  touchdown at 26, after scoring a running TD and a passing TD in this game.

I got in two good long walks today, one through the Austin airport through security and then to the gate for our flight and about a mile hike from the arrival gate at Love Field through the main lobby and out the walkway to the remote parking lot where we had parked our car.

We reached BIlly and Elaine’s house at 10:00 and true to his word, BIlly had all the fixings for Muffuletta sandwiches sitting on the counter when we arrived.  He had made a lovely olive salad with chopped green and black olives, pimientos, and lots of olive oil.

BIlly pulled the center bread out of a square chibani roll and filled it with olive salad.  Then he placed a slice of mozzarella on top, a slice of Black Forest ham and f8nally another slice of mozzarella.  He heated the sandwiches in the oven until the cheese melted and served them with an amber ale.

We talked for a while as BIlly kept bringing out family mementos.  I was finally blown away when BIlly brought out my two junior high yearbooks.

I was amazed that I remembered many of my classmates.

We left and when we returned to the Warwick we fell into bed and slept until 7:00 Saturday morning.

Bon Appetit 

November 25, 2021 Thanksgiving Brunch at Warwick Hotel - Cured Salmon Platter and Texas Omelette. Dinner at BIlly and Elaine’s house

November 25, 2021 Thanksgiving    Brunch at Warwick Hotel - Cured Salmon Platter and Texas Omelette.  Dinner at BIlly and Elaine’s house

At 9:30 we walked four or five blocks to Childer’s Bakery but it was closed, as was every other restaurant along the way so we returned to the hotel bar, where breakfast was being served.

Suzette drank coffee and ordered a Texas Omelette which was beautifully fluffy eggs wrapped around slices of house-made chorizo, bell peppers, cheddar cheese, and tomato salsa with a side of country style baby red potatoes.  I ordered the smoked salmon platter turned out to simple be a toasted bagel spread with a generous layer of cream cheese and garnished with a generous amount of Gravad lax, minced red onion and egg and dotted with large capers.

Pictures to follow

It looked great and tasted just like my usual bagel at home, except this was a regular bagel instead of a wheat bagel I ordered a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice that was quite lovely.

After breakfast when we returned to our room the housekeeping person was making it up so we grabbed a book and returned to the spacious lobby and found a seat on a couch by the southern windows with warm sunlight and read for 1/2 hour to let the housekeeping finish.

We then returned to our room and rested for a while, then got dressed and drove to BIlly and Elaine’s at 2:30.

When we arrived the leaves that had fallen were so beautiful that I decided to take a walk to see more of the fallen leaves, but we were interrupted by Mickie handing us glasses of Billoncort Salmon Rose champagne, so we sipped and toured the progress in the kitchen.

We then moved the car to the street to make space for Rita to navigate the stairs and then walked west several blocks to a group of trees with vividly colored leaves and back.  I was feeling better by the time we returned.

We talked and watched the Cowboys play the Raiders until Jerry and Marion arrived with the turkey, a wild rice dressing, a lovely delicata squash dish, and cranberry chutney.

BIlly was still basting the beef tenderloin and baking Mother’s spinach soufflé as Jerry sliced the turkey.  When Jerry finished carving the turkey and BIlly removed the soufflé from the oven, we all served ourselves and I poured the Bottle of Herman Weimer BVG biodynamic Riesling and BIlly had opened a bottle of the 2016 De Ponte Dundee Hills Pinot Noir.

Everything tasted wonderful. I took second helpings of the tenderloin, the wild rice dressing, and spinach soufflé.  I could feel Mother’s hand through the spinach soufflé in a deja vu recollection of that same soufflé as she made it, the same way the food critic in the movie Ratatouille has a deja vu recollection of his mother’s ratatouille when he tastes the mouse’s ratatouille.

We drank both bottles of Pinot and only one of the rieslings, perhaps because everyone was enjoying the tenderloin so much.

The Riesling was a very tightly merging of fruit and acidity.  The only other similar wine was a Trimbach special Riesling, which was considered a once in a generation wine.  Apparently, the tightness of the sweet and acid is a characteristic that is appreciated by the few, because I did not appreciate it with either the Trimbach or in this Weimer Riesling., nor did anyone else.

All I can say is that in most rieslings one is pulled by the sweetness or the acidity and sometimes by both, but with these special bottles the two are so tightly merged that the wine becomes simply a pleasantly drinkable wine.

Everyone saved room for dessert because Rita is famous for her pecan pie.  She said this one was over baked but I loved the heavily. toasted pecans on top and the rather stiff Caro syrup and brown sugar filling.  Rita suggested a dollop of whipped cream, so I went to the kitchen and with Billy’s help whipped 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream, a few drops of vanilla extract, and about 1/2 T. of granulated sugar into soft mounds of whipped cream in a matter of minutes. I ate several pieces of pecan pie.  Rebecca made a chocolate pecan pie and Elaine made a pumpkin pie.

The bottle of Burgundy Marc was still beside the table, so we shared the last of that bottle.  Billy poured Suzette a glass of XO cognac.

We then regrouped in the TV room and watched the-last six minutes of the Cowboy’s game and overtime, in which the Raiders prevailed by kicking a field goal to win 36 to 33.

Everyone in the room agreed, it was a good game.

We left around at 7:30 and returned to our room by 8:00.

We watched a Poirot episode and drifted off the sleep but awakened at 12:30 as our stomachs were working overtime to digest dinner.  Suzette fell back asleep, but I blogged and went back to bed at 2:00.

Bon Appetit

November 24, 2021 Lunch - Ascension, Dallas. Dinner - Selda Mediterranean Kitchen and Bar

 November 24, 2021 Lunch - Ascension, Dallas. Dinner - Selda Mediterranean Kitchen and Bar

We ate fresh wonderful food today.  The day was devoted to finding chairs for our TV room, so at 9:30 we drove east on Oak Lawn to the design area east of Stemmons to the David W. Gilbert showroom on Hi-line near our hotel and looked at chairs for an hour or two.  We decided we want  sturdy glider swivel chairs and saw several.

At 11:00 we were hungry, not having had any breakfast.  We asked the assistant for a recommendation for a breakfast restaurant and she said there is a good coffee and food restaurant on the corner of Hi-line and Oak Lawn.  One block from the showroom was Ascension, very inviting and with a design oriented decor.  After some research I found that it has been newly remodeled and the location at the Design Center is its flagship store in an expanding chain of coffee and food restaurants.  https://dailycoffeenews.com/2021/10/12/the-rise-of-ascension-coffee-in-dallas-continues-under-new-leadership/

We found a table for two next to a large atrium area and looked at the menu.

Suzette decided on a toasted chicken breast and Manchego sandwich with a cup of the coffee of the day that was Colombian and I finally settled on the Poke Bowl with a glass of orange juice.

We both enjoyed our choices.  My poke bowl was wonderful, a pile of kale drizzled with a spicy ginger dressing, a pile of fresh aji tuna poke that only lacked a few drops of sesame oil to make it perfect, a pile of room temperature cooked ancient grains, and an avocado half, sliced into a fan shape.  I loved the dish with its combination of dark green kale, fresh raw fish, avocado, and an abundance of cooked grains.  I felt as if the dish was designed with my carb and protein rich diet in mind.

After eating we drove to several antique shops and two more chair shops looking for chairs until 4:30 when we drove to Elaine and Billy’s house.

We rested until 6:15 and then drove with Mickie, Rebecca, and Elaine to Selda Mediterranean Kitchen and bar because it has a large outdoor patio and we had decided to eat outside as the weather was a balmy, windless 70 degrees.

As we walked to our table we noticed a large wooden platter filled with a mixed grill of three (Adana chicken, beef shish kebob, Urfa (ground beef) Kebob)  dishes, Bulgar rice and salad, which we immediately ordered, plus the lamb shish kebob special of the day, and the fish special of a whole grilled Branzino, two bean salads, and a platter of tzatziki.

I found out later that the restaurant has a well trained Turkish chef. I am a novice when it comes to Greek and Turkish food, but every meat dish was served with a refreshingly different salad and several were served on a large 15 inch round pita bread.  We were all impressed with the freshness of the salads and the meat dishes.  I don’t know the difference between a fancy kebob shop and a restaurant in Turkey, but we loved the freshness and variety of dishes. I think I have become an immediate fan of Turkish food. 

I ordered a bottle of Spanish Reserva Tempranillo, which the restaurant did not have.  Instead, the waitress brought a bottle of 2015 Fortelezza Del Rey Reserva from Catalunya that was 50% Tempranillo and 50% Carignan that was very smooth and food friendly.

I should have known we were in an authentic Turkish restaurant when we passed two middle aged men smoking from a hookah on the patio on our way to our table.  This level of authenticity was later confirmed when I saw that the restaurant has a hookah menu.

We ended the meal with a slice of chocolate mousse cake served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream dusted with ground pistachios.  A lovely concession to our Euro-centric taste buds.

What can I say; the food today was fantastic and I feel great at 3:50 a.m. as I finish this blog.

And tomorrow is Thanksgiving at Elaine and Billy’s house, so we are going to have another day of superlative dining.

Bon Appetit

November 23, 2021 Albuquerque to Dallas. Lunch - Kimball Museum. Dinner - Paella at Bill and Elaine’s

 November 23, 2021 Albuquerque to Dallas. Lunch - Kimball Museum. Dinner - Paella at Bill and Elaine’s 

We woke up at 5:30 to make the flight.  At 3:00 a.m. I made sandwiches of toasted French baguette with charcuterie and cheese for the flight.

We drove to the airport at 6:00 and checked I little late at 6:30 but we and our suitcases made it onto the plane.

When we arrived at Love Field we picked up our rental car band drove to the Kimball Museum in Fort Worth, arriving at noon.  I had eaten one +-half of my sandwich but Suzette had not eaten so we decided to order a pastrami and cheese sandwich and I picked up a piece of Texas Sheet cake and we bought a bottle of Rose from Paso Robles named Daou at the restaurant in the Kimball museum.

I thought the Rose would taste great with the sandwich, but it did not because the Rose seemed to have a buttery malolactic flavor. Then we tried it with the chocolate cake and it was amazingly delicious with the cake.  Like the two were wedded together. I am guessing because the cake may have been made with buttermilk.

We then viewed the Kimball collection and the big Turner show in the Piano annex. Turner was a first rate draftsman and water colorist, although he is admired for his nearly abstract later canvases of all white paint

Suzette wanted to see the Milton Avery show, so we walked across the street to the Modern Art Museum and saw the Milton Avery Retrospective. Avery was mostly self-taught so the faces on figures in his paintings are mostly non-existent, but his backgrounds in most of his later paintings after 1840 are dominated by slashes of white paint, which makes him one of the first modern painters.

I got tired after seeing the Avery show and Suzette fetched the car and I drove us to our hotel, the Warwick/Melrose at Cedar Springs near Oak Lawn.  This wonderful old hotel was once owned by Morton Meyerson.

We are staying here to garner 17,000 points to hopefully complete our 200,000 points for a Southwest companion pass for next year, which will allow Suzette to fly free as my companion.

After we checked in we lay down and took a nap until 6:00, when we drove to BIlly and Elaine’s house for dinner at 6:30.

Mickie and Rebecca were there and we discussed his new crypto business group and I tried to explain our new block chain business.

Both of us admitted we did not understand the other’s business model, which says a lot about how sophisticated portions of finance have become.

BIlly made a large deep skillet of Paella Valenciana with chicken thighs, ham, chorizo, Bomba rice, tomatoes, green olives, roasted red bell peppers, saffron and a quart of Aneto, a thick liquid containing stock of chicken, rabbit, duck, and snails plus herbs and saffron.  The dish was delicious and it was served with a bottle of Italian wine made from a grape that is a relative of Barolo, that is one of Mickie’s favorites. 

It was fun being with everyone.

After dinner we were served plates of chocolate sorbet that was really light but rich in chocolate flavor, Lindt chocolate infused with sea salt crystals, slices of fresh pear for dessert and BIlly poured some amazing spirits, an XO cognac for Suzette and a Marc of Burgundy for me.

It was an impressive finish to an impressive dinner.

One of the things that I love about our family is that since our mother was a gourmet cook and fine dining hostess,  BIlly and I and our children are good cooks and appreciate good food.

At 9:30 Mickie excused himself so he could get up early to work and we said goodnight at 9:30.

Bon Appetit

November 21, 2021 Brunch - Sausage, Egg, and Chèvre Burrito. Dinner - Roasted Turkey, Mashed regular and sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, Oyster and Pecan dressing, gravy, salad, and cobbler with ice cream

 

Today we made Thanksgiving dinner for seven, Tyler, Willy, Alan, Diane and Jim plus Suzette and me.

Cranberry Sauce 

We started around 8:00.  Suzette fetched 24 oz. of cranberries and added sugar and began cooking them.  I zested two oranges and added the zest and juice of 1/2 of a large orange.

Dressing

We next made the dressing.  I diced two onions, nine oysters, and four or five stalks of celery and a loaf of seeded rye bread.  Suzette then added salt, pepper, toasted pecans, some turkey stock, and 6 eggs.  She then mixed the 

Turkey

Suzette then cleaned the 16 lb. turkey and opened a plastic cooking bag and sprinkled flour into the bag and pre-heated the oven to 325 degrees.  Suzette went to the basement and found short trussing needles and we Filled the stomach and cavities with dressing and trussed them closed.  We then slid the turkey into the bag and put slits in the top of the bag and then put the turkey into the roasting pan and then put the roasting pan into the oven at 10:00 a.m.

After the turkey went into the oven we made brunch. We sautéed sausage and onion slices and added whipped eggs and the last half bottle of chèvre we bought in La Veta, Colorado a couple of months ago. The mixture turned rather creamy and then stiffened.  We toasted flour tortillas on the open flame on the stove and then filled the tortilla with the sausage filling and garnished the burrito with guacamole Crema and Cholula hot sauce.  I drank a cup of camomile tea with lime juice and honey.

We then went outside to clean up the gazebo dining area and then fetched plates, glasses, napkins, and silverware and I rolled a napkin around a knife, fork and spoon and lay them on the dining room table.

At 12:30 I lay down for a nap until 1:30. 

Mashed potatoes

Suzette baked sweet potatoes into the oven around the roasting pan.  She peeled and boiled Yukon Gold potatoes in water.  When they were cooked she creamed each separately in the Kitchen Aid while I was napping.

When I returned to the kitchen the turkey was roasted to perfection.

Gravy

We removed the turkey from the oven and opened one end and Suzette used a tube with a rubber bulb on the end to suck the broth out of the bottom of the bag. Suzette then added flour and salt to the broth and cooked it until it thickened a bit into a light gravy.

While Suzette made the gravy, I carved the turkey, separating the white and dark meat into two separate baking dishes.

Diane and Jim arrived at 2:00 with a large bowl of salad and dressing and a bottle of 2020 French Grenache Blanc from the Pay d’ Oc (Southwestern France) and a bottle of Sauvignon blanc.

We immediately opened the Grenache blanc and we all agreed that ii was a very interesting bottle of wine.  It had more character and assertiveness than many white wines.

We put all the food on the table and soon Willy and Tyler arrived and we served dinner buffet style from the dining room table and carried our plates  and glasses out to the gazebo.

Soon after we had assembled around the table under the gazebo Alan arrived and we began asking him questions about Antarctica were he has worked for the last two years.

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and it was pleasant eating outdoors

Cobbler

After Suzette made the gravy she turned her attention the the blueberry cobbler.  Suzette could not find her jiffy cobbler recipe so she faked it but did not use enough flour and the cobbler did not achieve a cake like consistency.

We had opened the bottle of Praeger Tawny port that has been sitting in the basement for over 15 years and decanted it into a wine carafe, so when The cobbler was served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, I poured glasses of tawny port. Finally around 4:30 it started getting cooler and we moved back inside.  We talked a while longer and everyone left by 5:30.

Suzette started cleaning up and loading the dish washer.

We made cups of camomile tea and watched two episodes of La Brea a new big budget sci fi thriller and the The season finale of Grandchester, after which I watched Baptiste and blogged.

I work hard to make sure everyone is served their food and wine properly during the meal, so I can not relax until well after the meal.

It was a successful meal and everyone seemed to enjoy the food and company.  As usual Suzette did a super job.

Bon Appetit

G

.

After we finished our main meal we cleared the plates and Suzette served the cobbler with vanilla ice cream and I poured glasses of tawny port.