California Dinner (Celebrating Cheese)

It always takes me forever to post our own dinner party, especially if we lost the wine competition... which we did :(  But it was still a blast! Joe and I had been gone for a month down in Puerto Escondido (check out my travel blog: http://dashingboldadventure.blogspot.com/), and our dinner was scheduled for the Friday after we got home. Less than a week! So that's my excuse for making my fall-back spaghetti. I called for Zinfandel.

Snacks:
Cheese Drizzled with Olive Oil
Black Finger-Olives
Crunchy Parmesan Wafers
Marcona Almonds & Dates

First Course:
Caprese Salad

Main Course:
Roasted Carrots,
Spaghetti with Spicy Meatballs,
Olive Cheese Bread

Dessert:
New York Style Cheesecake with Kona/Caramel Sauce and Berries

Wine competition:
Wades 1st place with Opolo, Mountain Zin, 2014 (Paso Robles)
Gilberts 2nd with Dobra Zemla, Zin, 2014 (Amador)
Shetlers 3rd with the prettiest bottle of Poizin, Zin 2013 (Sonoma)

Valentine's Day Dinner

Choosing a date that works for all of us can be a major challenge. We all sit around like a bunch of CEOs scheduling a meeting. Everybody pulls out their smart phone and checks our impacted calendar aps, except Joe who has an old flip-phone. He just laughs at us. Well we had one date available . . . Valentine’s Day! What a perfect way to spend Valentine’s, with people you love.

Dan and Denise went overboard (not the first time this has occurred). “Pre Show” was the most amazing little fresh (fresh as in Dan caught them himself) Salmon Cakes with a drizzle of Avocado Cream and Siracha Cream. The perfect blend of herbs was deeply embedded in the meat. A bowl of hot creamy Bleu Cheese Dip was excellent with the crackers.

The “Main Event” was Prime Rib with a nice little pile of Sautéed Button Mushrooms. A spray of Asparagus lay to the side with a drizzle of Hollandaise (Melissa, their oldest daughter hand peeled each asparagus and made the Hollandaise sauce). I didn't know peeling asparagus would make such a difference, but it was wonderful in both texture and flavor. Now turn your attention to the Super Charges de Pommes de Terre. I don’t know what that is, but it tasted like an amazing scalloped potatoes.

The “Grande Finale” was Chocolate Tarte with Kettle Crust, a Strawberry at its side. By now I was so full I could only manage a bite. Joe nobly finished off mine for me. What a good husband. I had opened my gift pack of homemade truffles and gobbled a couple of them. A Dark Chocolate Port Truffle (even the port is homemade) and a Red Velvet Cake Pop to be exact.

Now to the wine . . . we were told to bring a Zinfandel. We brought an old favorite, Rombauer Zin. Mark and Melissa brought a Turley Zin. Dan and Denise had an Opolo Mountain Zin. I liked all three. The Opolo is crazily jammy, perfect for dessert. The Turley was great with the appetizers. But the Rombauer won for its ability to hang in there through all the heavy flavors and not drown out the delicate flavors.

We finally won!!!! We actually got the much coveted medal. Next time is at Mark and Melissa’s.