Wednesday, December 14, 2011

The day started out sunny! What a surprise, lol! I was up early, had coffee, then wrote an article on Holiday entertaining for Examiner.com. I made Oatmeal Creme Brûlée for breakfast topped with walnuts. A trick I learned from Carl at Capitol Hill B&B. We went for a walk after breakfast to take advantage of the sun. It was beautiful! So much grows here with little effort. Lunch was Pasta with glazed vegetables in a butter-sour cream sauce. After lunch the weather turned cloudy so I decided it was time for a nap, lol. What better way to spend a rainy afternoon? Tonight we went to the Ritz-Carlton for dinner at the Banyon Tree. The Ritz was beautifully decorated for Christmas. I wanted to take one of the Christmas trees home. Oh my gosh! Our waiter was Robert ("Ro-ber", very French, from Lyon) who took great care of us. We split a bottle of 1994 Chaval Blanc and ate the tasting menu the chef was offering. Saffron poached shrimp with bulgur salad (there was a dipping sauce that had a "christmas flower" decoration on top, just beautiful, very clever), Halibut on a bed of purée, Pot Au Fue (beef), and Ginger Napolean. What a fantastic meal! Thank you, thank you! It is back to reality though and back to cooking tomorrow, lol. Night, all....