Lightcatcher Winery gang gathering

Last weekend the winery gang gathered for my birthday!!! Turning 40 is getting better and better all of the time and it was a perfect opportunity to gather with friends. The pièce de résistance was Lauren’s Baba au Rhum.

The evening started with make your own Ultimate Grape Martinis – using my favorite vodka, Ciroc. For those not familiar with Ciroc, it was one of the first of a new trend of vodka based on grapes rather than grain or potatoes. The martini is easy…. Equal parts of Ciroc, Santa Cruz Organic White Grape juice and top with your favorite sparkling wine (we used Chandon). Garnish with a frozen grape…. It had been a while since I had these and forget how crisp and refreshing this cocktail is….

For appetizers to go with the cocktails, Kaki brought an olive salad that was YUMMY!! I also served a jar of my sweet pickled jalapeños with a block of cream cheese.

For dinner Caris grilled marinated skirt steak (memories of Argentina) and delicious portabella mushrooms and red peppers. Sides included some of Cryssie’s great baked beans, Nat’s sliced bacon roasted potaoes with scallion sour cream, Kaki’s blue cheese cole slaw and some guacamole.

Lauren’s baba au rhum was amazing (pictured at the start of this blog entry). It is a yeast based cake studded with dried fruit and baked. There is a rum syrup that the cake soaks up… it is then glazed with an apricot glaze and topped with whipped cream. WOW! She used the Ina Gartner recipe from the Food Network show Barefoot Contessa, http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_33879,00.html. It is also in the Barefoot in Paris cookbook. Amazing job and amazing cake!!

Nat brought me a mini cigar…. Lauren wanted a little taste...Nat, Lauren and I did a little dancing to our favorite 80s. Kevin was even skipping along to the Cure at one point…

Kaki and Kevin gave me a second Anthony Bourdain book, A Cooks Tour. They gave me Kitchen Confidential last year! The rest of the gang grouped together and purchased a very nice basket of gifts. A cute little blue and black sake set, a set of cheese markers, a cool olive dish that has a place for pits, olives and toothpicks all in the same dish, and then a little cold bottle of something….

Hou Hou Shu sparkling sake is amazing…………… it is an unfiltered, unpasturized sparkling sake. This experience is best described by a fellow blogger – Ben Madeska at the following link: http://benmadeska.blogspot.com/2007/08/hou-hou-shu-sparkling-sake.html

WOW…

There has been some discussion with my friends on how & if the blog should continue and I will be continuing the blog, randomly logging some of my food experiences… and fun adventures.

Enjoy!