extra stuff was going on all week and into the weekend. lots of parties, two birthdays, a wedding, last minute stuff on weeknights that had me out until way too late. lots of stuff. so much stuff that i only had a vague recollection of what jondi was up to (we usually are in pretty close contact). hectic stuff. stuff that makes you ask yourself, "where's my head at?".

when that happens, i usually "plan" a meal as my escape. that is, i block out sunday (i.e. ask astrid if she is in the mood for a big dinner), invite friends, and let my subconscious think of a meal to serve. if the cooking doesn't settle my scattered mind, the food, company and wine will. on this particular occasion, it did. here's a course by course recap of what transpired.

5:30pm
scott carrelli and hsiao-wen shih and their dog nestle arrive. the ladies refuse drinks and run off to try on clothes (some sort of clothing swap). scott and i have heineken in a can to get things started. a lost but super happy burmese mountain dog named zona arrives a bit later and some hectic moments (reminiscent of the week earlier) ensue when we call the number on her tag to find our who owns her. we reach someone in australia who calls his wife who lives up the street and 10 minutes later zona is picked up.

6:10pm
scott and i open up a 2005 sauvignon republic russian river sauvignon blanc and start to drink it with cheese (goat and triple cream brie) and crackers astrid laid out for us. at our urging the girls briefly appear modeling new stuff.

6:30pm
our other guests, brent and trish arrive. plenty of cheese left, but the sauvignon republic is dusted. i open a 2005 geyser peak sav blanc and we get on with the socializing.

7:00am
the guests sit and i slice and serve super ripe heirloom tomatoes of various colors and sizes. the plates leave the kitchen garnished with fresh mozzarella, grey salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, and "skipstone ranch melinda's harvest" extra virgin olive oil (to make this olive oil even more totally pretentious, the bottle was signed in my presense by the guy tat made it. hi-larious). a bottle of 2003 peter michael 'ma belle-fille' chardonnay is opened and a huge discussion erupts surrounding whether or not that one particular aspect of the smell reminds us of "burnt sugar" or "cotton candy". fortunately my brother, who is the sales and marketing manager at the winery in question was contacted on speakerphone and, after learning some more about the wine, the debate was more or less settled... sort of.

7:20pm (or thereabouts)
astrid serves a salad made of chopped belgian endive and avocado with a blue cheese vinaigrette. this course was served with a 2003 hawley barrel fermented viogner - similar style as the last wine, but different grape. another unidentified smell is detected, but the alcohol is beginning to set in and no one can muster the strength to debate this one.

7:sumthing
i pop out to grill some scallops. those are served on a "bed" of blanched scallions with a mustard vingarette. we run out of the viogner, and decide to give a 2004 trimbach riesling a try with the fish. it's a bit pale in comparison to the two big wines served earlier, but it's a refreshing change and goes well with the seafood.

8 (or maybe it's 9 and i've had the times wrong all along).
i pop out to the grill again, but this time it's all about 6 dry aged prime beef filet mignons. salt, pepper and light olive oil are all that go on these. they're done (rare-ish) in a flash and are served with olive oil and roasted garlic mashed potatoes, brown mushrooms, organic squash, and yellow onion sauteed with thyme and butter. nobody notices this course however because the spirited and sometimes funny debate about how politically correct we all must be or not be, particularly regarding race and whatnot. the food and conversation are all being washed down with a 2001 eric ross russian river valley 'poule d'or' pinot noir... and then a 2nd one. we all even stop to notice the flavors here, and the beef especially is making us all very thankful for this moment of insane sanity, when good friends, conversation and food make the world slow down just a bit.

time unknown
desert! chocolate covered italian cookies topped with vanilla ice cream and a 1997 sandeman 'vau vintage' vintage port.

guests home, dishes done, and recycling bin shamefully full of empty booze containers we hit the sack. 10:20am jondi and i both arrive late for our 10am meeting at loöq towers. he with stories of saturday night's cocktail party affecting him a full 36 hours later, and me with my pleasant hangover from last nights meal. time to get to work!