dinner with friends

I will get back to the earlier part of the week in a bit- with a review of Seascape  from the Remy Bumppo theater.  But right now I thought I would post our menu for tomorrow night- ooops - actually for tonight with wine friends... obviously the execution will mostly be handled during the day Saturday but I do have the dessert started- LOL- I made the chocolate soil....

so I actually do have a review to give of Seascape but will have to wait to post until after the dinner party....

flawless by chris nugent

flawless is something we don't usually get to say about a meal - especially an eight course meal but our return to Goosefoot brought that review of Chris Nugent's amazing gem.  I won't spend tons of time slobbering over the incredible taste combinations or the perfect execution of each course and will let the menu speak for itself:

an amuse bouche of beet with citrus

from there we pretty much follow along with the menu but for skipping the coconut (allergy)

a palate cleanser of pomegranate, beet and yuzu

the finale: a gooseberry in a chocolate dip!

we brought the Peter Michael (and gave another bottle to Chef Chris because he has a personal connection with Sir Peter Michael) and the Cristom - we switched to the Cristom on the duck course and then back to the white for the incredible pumpkin and white chocolate dessert course....good choices and safe ones as nothing was old enough to worry about how the age had affected it and the Cristom actually opened up really nicely over the meal... probably should have aerated it....

one more

short post from Colombia- remember the story about my becoming the Obleas lady? Well here are the locals laughing at my technique while the obleas lady helps me forestall my whaffly thing breaking into a thousand small pieces...LOL

and here I am in the gambling den in Santa Marta - thank god they didn't make me put up any real money- LOL

I love the above shot because I think this person with their finger in my arm is telling me to get out of the way even though I am the one in the game and they are on the sideline- LOL- gotta love group travel - in even small groups like this one of sixteen you get challenged by some people some times- you just hope that it passes over and there isn't one person - the same person all the time... here I was lucky and found myself irritated and then moving on- different people different times- but - I will say this- I came home happy that all my travel for 2013 is scheduled for private journeys.  I forget how tough it can be to "live" with others when we do so much traveling only on our own (all of our Europe travel and multi Argentina and Hong Kong as well as Singapore and Japan) or only with just two of us and our drivers and guides (all of our southeast Asia travel - for both Phil and me and Jennifer and me)

and finally - this shot of me - in 98* with 99% humidity after an hour long walk this is one Kimo took (actually these are all courtesy of James Brock) when Jairo in a gesture of true sympathy for us bought us beers and sodas as we all looked pretty much the same- LOL-well I do have that "glow" - LOL

rumor has it that I am getting some additional photos from arepa making- will keep you posted-

the week ahead

filled with food and friends and fun-

tonight a Chicago Gourmet event at Chicago q -

our menu for tonight is - now posted above! (revised this entry on Tuesday) my comments are- good food GREAT cheesecake!

here are a few more photos from the evening courtesy of Don Newcomb- ooooh the cheesecake- it was really something special!

Tuesday both Phil and I have lunch engagements - I get Mexican- he is having Vietnamese....

Wednesday a long awaited dinner at Goosefoot (see prior entry from the end of July- actually 7/29/12 to be exact)

Thursday - the theater- and here goes- could be great could be awful-

A Pulitzer Prize-winning script and giant lizards - theatre doesn’t get any better than this.  In Seascape, land meets sea and present meets past, when an older human couple come face to snout with their prehistoric selves. Albee’s linguistic playfulness and willingness to make his characters confront the dangerous unknown create a scenario both deeply thoughtful and absurdly funny.

Charlie and Nancy, a recently retired, happily married couple, are enjoying an afternoon on the beach, disturbed only by the occasional low-flying plane and their own arguments, when suddenly their peace and their ideas are threatened by the appearance of a younger, adventurous couple—who just happen to be of another species as well. This winner of the 1975 Pulitzer Prize displays all of Albee's singular linguistic playfulness as well as his willingness to make his characters bravely confront their own everyday fears and face the dangerous unknown The last time Remy Bumppo tackled Albee, both the production and Annabel Armour earned Jeff Awards. This time the human relationships with animals are strictly platonic—a journey into primordial eons and emotions, where lizard brains and human pains face futures both immediate and infinite.

will be back later in the week with the personal reviews-

Friday Arno's birthday party at Anteprima (ten winos together for the evening!) and Saturday the dinner party here with Neil, Michael & Art, Sheila & Mary and Larno (our name for Laure & Arnaud)

oh and Sunday Phil has another theater event that I opted out of - Woody Sings! at the Northlight (and here I thought he died years ago- LOL)

so while you may not hear from me for a week or so- you know what I will be doing--- stay tuned... same bat time same bat channel....