2010 So Far

I can't say that I was unhappy to see 2009 ride off into the sunset. Gone are the days when we spent the week between Christmas  and the new year on a hot sunny beach.  In my opinion the view from a beach chair is the ultimate way to celebrate the new year.  That being said, now we get to celebrate with our friends-- it may be cold, but it is always fun.

Remnants of New Year's Eve:

John was working on New Year's Day, so a Law and Order SVU marathon while taking down the Christmas decorations was just fine with me.

By the next day, though,  we were ready for some company.  J and L were coming for dinner.

We had peppadews stuffed with garlic herb cheese:

And bar nuts:

Both perfect with a martini.

We then had roasted chicken with olives and lemons followed by a salad of chicory and romaine lettuce tossed with Parmesan and walnuts.

As we were finishing our pinot noir, our friends called from the road to say that they were coming for dessert. We cleared the dishes then added two more places. When they arrived they were toting a bottle of grappa.  All was well.

We had some creamy coffee ice cream splashed with Patron XO Cafe and topped with crunchy Holy Mole Pecans and espressos all around.

The holidays are finally just a memory, and last weekend the usual suspects showed up for politics and pizza.  The only thing was, T asked for guacamole--so I swapped the pizza for roasted pork tenderloin with a mole Poblano sauce,  Mexican rice and roasted grape tomatoes.  A Penfold's Bin 28 Shiraz complemented the spiciness of the pork beautifully.

The next night J and L came for dinner and a movie.  We had various antipasti including these salami crisps with sour cream:

Then I made one of L's favorite pizzas--thinly sliced new potatoes sprinkled with salt, rosemary, extra virgin olive oil, then topped with Parmesan:

And the wine was a smooth blend of cabernet, syrah and merlot:

The movie was good, too.  So far 2010 is shaping up just fine.