the players
picture the scene: two dear friends visiting from canada, Babe, 9 months pregnant with Lucas, a chill to the air outside... what else is there to do but to go big and have an intimate dinner party? first up, the players: me and Babe (and, technically, Lucas), Myra, friend, co-host, chef, Maurice, guest and photographer, and Anita, guest. observe:
the dinner soirée
this is my cooking blog so i'm just going right to the food. and there was lots of it. as usual, babe set the mood with her beautiful decorating ~ sort of an enchanted winter dinner party feel. dinner, 2 days in the making, took 3 hours to consume, which was really rewarding... felt very european as a matter of fact, with a laxidasical pace, endless conversation, free flowing wine and, of course, the food. when the last drop of mango sauce was licked from the beautiful dessert dish, maurice looked at his watch and exclaimed, "holy, it's 11pm!"
come to think of it, "rewarding" isn't strong enough ~ it was downright invigorating! as noted in an earlier post on Why I Love This..., it's in the combination of food and friends, exhibition and glory (or not sometimes!), and, of course, butter, that i find so much pleasure. and this night, this dinner that slipped 3 hours out from under us without shaking a glass, this experience was a savory hallmark in what i hope will be a lifetime of such events...
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the enchanted table
a la foxy wife
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amuse bouche
gruyeré cheese gougers
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first course
butter nut squash soup
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second course
dungeness crab salad, mixed greens, pomegranate dressing
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third course
sweet potatoe agnolotti, curry emulsion sauce
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fourth course
seared halibut, broccoli rabe, citrus vanilla buerre blanc
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fifth course
sierra nevada pale ale braised short ribs, fingerling potato coins
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sixth course
vanilla bean panecotta, mango compote, homemade pistachio biscotti
so there you have it, six courses at chez berliner's courtesy of todd and myra. you can find the complete album of Maurice's Fabulous Photos on, again you guessed it, facebook. in case you're not cool enough (i kid) to see his photos, here's the gist of the food shots. oh, and hey, don't feel bad, i had to make a six course meal to get access to these photos (again, i kid)!
