Food, Wine & Friends - Page 86
MARJORIE MARTIN'S
CHRISTMAS-in-MAY
A Belated Holiday Celebration
With Paul & Sandy, Henry & Alexia, Cliff, Bob and Gerald
Marjorie hosted a little holiday gift event and we gathered in May at her
lovely home in San Mateo.
Cliff took care of pouring the Billecart-Salmon Champagne, an exceptional
bottle!
We had copious quantities of oysters to pair
with the bubbly.
Marjorie was in fine form (she's a young 90, after all!).
Everybody was busy with the oysters.
Next we sat down at the table for a little salad.
I prepared an intensely garlicky dressing with anchovies, white vinegar,
shallots, olive oil, mustard and more garlic.
Most of the crowd enjoyed the Germano "Binel," a deliciously smoky
blend of Chardonnay and Riesling along with the Austrian white blend from the
Ehn family.
Marjorie was up to her elbows in salad!
Next we served a variation on the theme of paella.
Plenty of seafood, but with a Sardinian pasta called "Fregola."
I cooked the pasta in a shrimp-based broth (using the shrimp shells) with plenty
of saffron.
Marjorie kept insisting on more food!
Two birds.
Bob is very busy chowing down, while Paul is being attacked by a giant clam.
Henry is just plain busy.
Two Paul Lehrner wines from Austria are outstanding and
immediately the bottles are emptied.
We had the Steineche Blaufrnkisch and their special Cuve Paulus.
Marjorie was quite busy, but enjoyed this dish.
Cliff was enjoying the seafood until he was bitten by a mussel.
Sandy.
Bob.
Miranda.
Paul and Sandy brought a cheese course.
We drank two 1993 vintage Burgundies from Georges Lignier. The wines were
both delicious, rounding out nicely. Lignier wines tend to be a bit lean
and wiry in their youth, but these were substantial wines.
Clos de la Roche
Clos Saint Denis
Alexia.
Marjorie and Paul.
Alexia's Fruit Tarte de Noel.
Henry pours the Bonny Doon Freisa.
Jamie.
We then set about opening Christmas gifts.
Marjorie with a new "cat"
Alexia now owns a new cookbook: Everything Tastes Better with Bacon.
Henry brought home some bacon Sunday night.
And my "buddy" Paul Obester now has a new calendar to keep track of
the rest of the year.
A swell time was had by all!!!
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