Lovely Time on Halloween . . .
So last night our friends Brandon and Liz came over for dinner. They braved traffic on 167 and South Hill to come to dinner with us. I know our place is not the easiest to get to, nor is it convenient for most. So when people go out of their way to come by, it's extra special. Brandon and I were room mates for quite a few years and have been friends since the second grade. While we lived together, we would cook some epic meals that would leave us full and bloated for days. So when he said he'd bring the steaks down, I knew it was going to be one of those nights.I headed out around 3PM yesterday to get the fixins for the rest of the meal. At our local Fred Meyer, I picked up a couple bags of mixed greens and baby spinach for the salad. Some baby carrots, red onion, bacon and blue cheese crumbles combined with an organic balsamic vinagrette to make the salad just right. Some Au Gratin potatos for a starch and a couple bottles of "7 Deadly Zins" for the wine. Combine that with Brandon's New York steaks with a nice Huckleberry rub and you've got yourself on hell of a meal! Oh and I added a Carrot cake for dessert.
Brandon and Liz arrived around 6 and the first bottle of wine was opened. I'd seen the wine in Mens Health earlier in the week and have recently gotten into Zinfandels. So I thought it'd be a nice compliment to the steak. I really enjoyed the wine. I'm by no means a wine snob . . . I don't know anything about throat or tannins or any of that stuff. If it tastes good to me . . . it's a good wine. This one tasted really good to me. We also got to break in our new Reidel stemless wine glasses . . . I've wanted some for awhile now and my broker and his wife got us a set of four for our wedding present. Very cool.
I started the potatos and mixing the salad while Brandon prepared the steaks (and chicken for Teri). Brandon and Liz had not yet met puppy Taylor, so while we were cooking and BSing much fun was had by all with the puppy. Within about a half an hour, dinner was ready and we all sat down to eat. AWESOME meal! Even better when shared with good friends, good conversation and good wine! I had a great time! I just wish we all lived closer together so it could be more of a regular occurance. Anyway, thanks guys! We had a great time! Next time, we'll come north!