August 16, 2015 Dinner Party and First Bocce Match

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We invited our neighbors, Branden, Alliison, and their four year old  son,Benjamin  Zajak and Cynthia Elliot for dinner and bocce.  I had bought a 3.5 lb. chuck roast at Sprouts on Thursday ($3.99/lb.) and we had carrots and onions.  On Friday I went to Costco and bought a 15 lb. bag of Yukon gold potatoes ($7.79).  On Saturday morning I rough cut the potatoes, carrots, and an onion and put them into the crock pot with enough water to cover the ingredients and then added 3 beef bullion cubes, a Tbsp. of chopped Rosemary and 2 or 3 Tbsp. of fresh chopped oregano leaves to the crock pot.  We let it cook all day and by 7:00 when we served dinner the meat fell apart to the touch and the vegetables were all cooked and tender.

Cynthia arrived around 5:00 p.m. with a container of hummus, pita chips, a salad, vegetable sticks for scooping into the hummus, a peach and blueberry cobbler, and a bottle of champagne.  Soon the Zajaks arrived bringing a  sumptuous tiramisu from Whole Foods and a bottle of Gloria Ferrar 1997 vintage champagne, an exceptional bottle with luxurious fruit and complexity. We poured it first and went outside to play bocce.  When we finished the Gloria Ferrar, I opened a bottle of Gruet 25th anniversary Blanc de Noir and poured it, but it soon began to rain.  We sought cover under the awning on  the patio.  I opened my most glorious food find in the last year, a package of duck pate bought at our local Lowe’s Neighborhood Market for $7.99.  I toasted slices of Fano baguette and we smeared them with pate and enjoyed it with sips of champagne.  Since we all could smell the stew, we decided that since it was raining we should eat. 

Cynthia made a balsamic and olive oil dressing for her spinach salad, with celery, tomatoes, red onion and chopped green olives with pimiento.  I cut slices from a loaf of whole wheat rye bread  I bought at the Railyard Farmers’ Market Sunday morning from Cloud Cliff Bakery and toasted it and we filled pasta bowls with the pot roast beef stew.  I served a 2013 La Finca Cabernet Sauvignon I bought at a tasting at Total wine on Thursday. The ruby red color and fruity taste made the cab very drinkable for me. 

After dinner, I re-filled the glasses with champagne and Cynthia served her salad.  A  little later Suzette served tiramisu, with a scoop of vanilla ice  cream, and a scoop of Cynthia’s cobbler with glasses of Gruet champagne.

The first bocce game pitted the Zajaks against Cynthia, Suzette and me.  Ben proved to be a handicap for team Zajaks’ scoring ability but a big plus in the enthusiasm category, because Ben was too small to throw the bocce ball effectively but so loved the whole concept of playing with the grown ups that it more than made up for his inability to score points. We won the game 12 to 8.

Around 9:30 we all said goodnight.

Bon Appetit