Gourmands Unite

It occurred to me this evening that perhaps I shall start another blog in which we can share a common evening of cooking, music and maybe a movie. I often wonder what other's lives are like when they are not connected to a group of friends or family. As an example, this evening I am preparing a lovely braised lamb shank dinner while listening to a very nice new cd (new to me). I am waiting for the last half hour of braising before I can actually taste the final result but I am quite confident that it will be most delicious. I found this fantastic place to buy fresh lamb and at quite a good price. I marinated it in wine, thyme, garlic and sherry vinegar. So I sat on my back deck listening to the silence of more storms to come with my two canine companions exploring the mysteries of my tiny backyard and thought what an absolutely lovely evening I had created for myself. I wondered what it must be like for those who perhaps were new to a city or recently displaced for whatever reason and therefore had not created or established a group or even a few people to share an evening meal, conversation etc. I am fortunate that way. I have a small group of close friends I can cook for or share time with. And it's a treat for me to do this soley for myself every now and again. Now, to suit my own interests, it should include cooking and/or food and it's requistite descriptions. As a result of these odd quandries I may, sometime soon, include a blog address for those who for whatever reason would like to share in the experience of preparing and sharing a meal. Call me crazy but I think this could be quite fun and interesting. I will continue my entries here which are less interactive so to speak, than that which I shall refer to next time.

I spent a lot of time in the kitchen this evening but also on my back deck. It has been unusually quiet. It seems that even the mosquitoes are absent. I wonder if this is some foreboding of some nasty storm that is heading our way. I take such pleasure in sitting in my odd wicker chair and lighting a couple of candles just relaxing and sipping my glass of wine. And what a fiasco the whole subject of wine was this evening. I wanted to use an inexpensive rioja for my marinade but the weather was a bit threatening so I decided against another trip out and used something I had on hand. That was the easy part. Then, what to choose to drink? I decided upon a french red recommended by a person at Central Market in lieu of a nice Chateauneauf de Pape that I was familiar with. Ugh, it was not quite all that it was reported to be so I ended up decanting it to force it to open up a bit. It's not horrible but I was really looking forward to this lovely dinner with an appropriately lovely wine. Hopefully the dinner will not be as disappointing. I will report on that next time...

Rooms Actually

In Virginia's day it was a "room". For me kitchen of one's own which is the heart and soul of my home. So I shall recount some of my culinary and life experiences as it relates to that center of my universe.

I begin there in the kitchen where I prepared a dinner for two dear friends who hadn't seen each other in quite a while. There is something so wonderful about preparing a meal for those you care about. Not having any children or very little surviving family (despite my age), I have the privlege of choosing my family in the way of dear friends. Bringing friends together in a celebration of reunion and an upcoming birthday was a perfect excuse to eat, laugh and share recent stories not heard before. The menu was fairly simple: beef...steak, actually, as the soon to be birthday girl loves red meat (being the Texan that she is) marinated in olive oil, garlic and chopped fresh rosemary and salt and fresh ground pepper of course. The sides were simple as well...roasted tomatoes in balsamic vinegar, a cantelope, prosciutto, fresh mozzarela and arugula salad. So perfect for summer. And then some couscous with almonds, parlsey, and a few other herbs and spices. For dessert, a lovely trifle inspired by my new favorite, Nigel, with red currents, blackberries and blueberries. We were so full from dinner that I had to send the dessert home wiith them. But it was so divine...light as a feather with the marscapone and whipped cream. Made with heavy whipped cream, I might add. Who cares about calories when one is preparing a celebratory meal. We were up until one or two laughing, talking astrology and hanging out in the kitchen while I cleaned up a bit and made soy lattes. It's so odd how people always like to converge in the kitchen. Even at large parties there is always a large group hanging out in the kitchen. Perhaps because it makes people feel more at home and it does have such a warm vibe to it. We all had such a wonderful time...the best in a long time for all of us. I realized at the moment when the last of latte was drained from my mug how much I enjoyed the company of dear friends in my home and vowed that it would not be six months or a year before I would have another gathering.