Disaster!

Last Wednesday night was the Pink Party! Big rosé wine tasting party. Everybody was to wear pink. There were over 15 tables of multiple rosés to try. Some bubbly, some tart, some dessert-wine sweet. People went all out. Lots of pink wigs, pink balloons and pink party dresses.

We went with friends who definitely got the memo.

I apparently was not paying attention...

See? I'm barely wearing any pink at all! Disaster. I could have outfitted an army in hardcore pink, but I dropped the ball and wore a smidge of pink in a pattern on my shirt.

Oh well, I was proud to see my favorite color so well represented. And the wine wasn't half-bad either. :)

Celebration Food Part 2

And the celebration continues! We went out to Mizuna for their tasting menu last night. Before hand, we cleaned J's apartment and drank proseco. We know how to party in style. Last night was to celebrate J accepting a position with the DA's office. Before we left for dinner, I got a call that I have an interview! Actually the same position I was supposed to interview for a few weeks ago. They reposted the ad on craigslist and I reapplied. :) Nice to know I didn't totally blow it with bad calendaring skills.

No pictures from Mizuna dinner, but please believe it was delicious. Our server said "bon appetite" before each course, which got a little old, but was great other than that. J had a few 1/2 glasses of wine with courses, I stuck with a glass of riesling.
First course: 5 tastes, each from a different chef. First bite was crab with sesame seeds (amazing). Second bit was a salmon dip (ok). Third bit was an incredible piece of blue fin tuna. Fourth was a spring pea crostini. Last was a truffle quiche. The crab dominated for me.
Second course: a perfectly seared scallop with caramelized fennel. So good.
Third course: hand made cavatappi pasta with grilled prawns. Delicious.
Fourth course: lightly sauteed halibut, wrapped with a sliver of prosciuttio, served with morel mushrooms. I think this course was my favorite. The fish was perfectly cooked and so tender.
Fifth course: palate cleanser of blueberry fizzy drink and grapefruit sorbet. The sorbet tasted like grapefruit pith. Not a fan.
Sixth course: Beef with mushroom duxelles and horseradish cream. I thought my heart was going to explode. I gave most of mine to the boy. I was feeling really full at this point.
Seventh course: dessert of deconstructed apple pie. Good, but not amazing.
Two cookies, warm from the oven, came with our check. Yum.

Dinner took about 2.5 hours and was worth every penny. I love celebrating with food.

Celebration Food

Jake got a job offer on Monday! (He got another one on Wednesday, too!) We decided to celebrate with fish tacos. Food of champions.

Jake fried the fish on the porch, using his camp stove and secret family recipe for batter.

I made a red cabbage slaw, guacamole and this southwestern quinoa with a few modifications.

I a added a red bell pepper and cumin/chile pepper instead of taco seasoning. Very good and really filling.

I made a ton of quinoa; we'll be having leftovers for ages.

How do you celebrate events or special occasions? Is food involved? Is it the focus? For me, food is always involved, and sometimes the focus. Have a good Thursday! The weekend is almost here!

Cheeseburger in Paradise

I might have had a cheeseburger for dinner three nights in a row over the weekend. Marzyck's, My Brother's Bar and a birthday bbq. Don't worry, I made sure to have salads and greens the rest of the weekend.

Saturday Jake and I headed out to Confluence Park to meet up with cousin Lizzie and some other paddlers. Confluence Park is a play park for kayakers. I went along to carry things and take pictures. :)

Jake playing in some waves.

Me posing by the shore. I think I missed a shot of the crazy/drunk guy who decided to run it in a play inflatable boat. He got lucky and didn't get dunked in the COLD water.

Lizzie battling for a wave. Group.

The weather out here has been crazy: 70 and sunny at noon, 35 and pouring later on. We even had a mud rain earlier last week. It was gross -- my car looks like I went off-roading.