Fresh Tart

Well, it was all downhill from there... I lost last week to a nasty cold and cough, but I'm back in fighting form this week. Whew. Despite feeling under the weather I enjoyed a couple of good meals, at week's end, starting on Friday night with Debbie and Stu The Wine Genius Williams and Rudy Maxa and Ana Scofield. Debbie set us up at Tim McKee's (La Belle Vie, Solera) new venture, Barrio, a tequila bar serving delicious Latin American (emphasis on Mexican) tapas. And delicious tequila! Hey, without a doubt Barrio is loud and crowded, more bar than restaurant (per the name), but it was a blast to scope out something new and as you might have gleaned from past posts, I am a sucker for south-of-the-border fare, BIG time. I scarfed down two crispy-spicy potato-chorizo tacos, shrimps grilled on skewers of sugar cane, and tasted scallop ceviche, guacamole, tequila-cured salmon (seriously good), and tender crab empanadas. Everything was delicious.

In typical fashion, I paid very little attention to where we were going ahead of time (Team Napa is always fun!) and had already planned and shopped for Saturday's dinner to celebrate my stepmom Susanna being in town. My menu? Uh, Latin American tapas. Well, not exactly, but pretty close. So for the second night in a row we dug into guacamole, spicy shrimps, carnitas rolled in corn tortillas with pickled onions, spicy pinto beans,rice, and grilled green peppers and onions. I even put together a cold, creamy tres leches cake, dangerously good.

After being couped up in the house all last week, I'm chomping at the bit - fresh fall air, here I come. After pretty heavy fare over the weekend, I'm feeling weighed down - sauteed halibut with aromatic vegetables, here I come.

Happy Birthday David! Happy Birthday Jen! And oh, Happy Anniversary John and Stephanie!

Moderate it: give it away. I've said it before, and it is a good trick - when leftovers loom large, offer takeaways for your guests. And at the tapas bar? Order lightly, since in my experience the table orders significantly more food at tapas-style restaurants than entrees at a traditional restaurant. Little bites of this and that, usually pretty rich fare, add up FAST. And oh, if the restaurant doesn't have valet parking - and Barrio does not - wear much more comfortable shoes than I did... blisters, baby, ouch.

Well, there it is, our Bizarre Foods debut behind us. Whew! I was very nervous watching last night (although not as nervous as I was on my way to film it, ack). I thought the food looked delicious (it was) and not overly bizarre, right? In fact, we lucked out hugely being invited for the lovely Heartland gig - how 'bout those burgers topped with big scoops of peanut butter and mayo? Man, give me brains poached in cream and pickled tongue over that any day.

We appeared much quieter than we actually were, although I laughed out loud - and all day - at John matter-of-factly saying he was happy to have eaten testicle. You can just imagine the comments he's gotten today, at basketball and at the office, funny. All in all, a very cool experience indeed.

Today, I continued with this Mexican food jones I've got going. After white chicken chili last night, I grilled pork tenderloin this evening, to eat wrapped in fresh, warm corn tortillas with "pickled" onions, avocado slices, and a crumble of feta (standing in for queso fresco). Sort of a quicker, lighter take on carnitas. And frankly, just as delicious. (Recipe posted in comments, below.)

Fun! That's what Cocktail Jewelry Parties are - just plain FUN! Here it is, after 1:00 a.m., so this will be a quick post, one of those I'm-Too-Jazzed-To-Fall-Asleep-So-I'll-Write posts. I do need some sleep, since Cooper Cuteness will be here at 9:00 tomorrow (this) morning. So I'll post recipes later - I think the tres leches cake, shrimp salad, and carnitas went over best tonight. Stay tuned...

The Susie Silpada Bling Shopping was great fun, almost everyone found something to rock their boat(s). Rings and necklaces and bracelets and earrings, woo hooo! Thank you to Kathie, Chris, Mary, Lindsay, Kristi, Beth, Kim, Bev, Bobbi, Stacey, and Kasey for such a fun night!

So, tomorrow, recipes. And tonight (or morning)? Must. Go. To. Bed. Sleep well (hopefully you already are, and have been for a couple of hours)!

Hola! I'm gearing up for a Mexican-themed Cocktail Jewelry Party this evening, starring Suz's Silpada bling and lots of my spicy treats. Yay for parties! Yay for a reason to invite the girls over! I'm making carnitas to eat rolled in soft corn tortillas and garnished with chopped radishes, pickled onions, and a drizzle of crema. A spicy, creamy shrimp salad. A pinto bean salad with peppers and tomatoes. Bowls of guaaahcamole and salsa with tortilla chips and roasted vegetables for dipping. And a very easy and fun-to-make tres leches cake. After washing it all down with cold beer, snappy wines, and hot coffee, we should be properly fortified for chatting and jewel-browsing, I think. As if I need fortification for jewel-shopping, ha. (Mary P. or Kathie R., if you read this, you are invited, my dears, but Park Nicollet will no longer let my emails through - I've tried several times. So frustrating! I'm junk to Park Nicollet now, I guess. Junk! Sheesh.)

Well, back-to-school continues to chug along pretty smoothly. Although I am most certainly not a morning person, being up-and-at-em by 6:30 a.m. does have its benefits. (I used to voluntarily get up at 5:30 a.m. every day to walk before work with my former neighbor Beth - I'm too old for such craziness now.) I am walked, showered, and a good way into my daily chores and desk work by 9:00 a.m. Just like the good ol' days at Park Nicollet - you know, when they used to accept my emails... As a result, I'm checking several items off the ever-nightmare checklist I keep on my desk. Like clean my nightmare desk. Done! Sooooo done! Yeah!

So, back to the party, depending on how I think the food tastes at the party, I'll post recipes, so stay tuned...