Winterfest Wonderful Weekend

The girls (Lauri, Theresa and Susan), minus one (Darcy), came up for the weekend.  We went to the Winterfest at the Cellar Door Winery.  When we entered there was a perfect spot of all of us to belly up to the bar for the Food and Wine Pairing.  The food was prepared by Lani Temple of Megunticook Market in Camden.  My favorite pairing were of the Casa Blaca, a dry Savignon Blanc with the Scallop wrapped with Prosciutto and the Vino DiVine, a dry Vidal Blanc paired with Creamy Spinach Souffle on Crostini.  There was also some barrel tasting of red wines in the kitchen, served with piles of cheese and chocolate delights.  We then went to the Waterfront Restaurant to enjoy the view and sip some more wine and finally, to Cafe Miranda in Rockland for dinner.  The girls had never been to Cafe Miranda and we all thoroughly enjoyed the food.  One of the unique starters was BRUSSELS SPROUTS!-roasted w/kosher salt, olive oil,balsamic vinegar, caramelized onion, garlic, cream.  Yum Yum and another unique dish, GNU EVAN’S- mixed field greens tossed w/our hand cut fries, olive oil, romano cheese and lemon.  What a wonderful way to get kids to eat salad.  After a great evening of challenging Wii games, we got up and started eating all over again. 

Theresa prepared a wonderful crustless quiche that seemed to me to be very light and filled with flavor.  However, it did contain 6 eggs and 3 cups of cheese, so I don't think this would register as "light" food.  She is a great cook, as are all the girls and we thoroughly enjoy their efforts.  The Quiche was served with a salad of mixed greens and pistachio spread and little screwdrivers.  What a wonderful way to start a Sunday,

Ganache - Panache

I am not really a baker, it is simply too scientific for me and to me, makes one try to become more of a perfectionist than necessary. But this little cake recipe really attracted my attention. For one, it is small and attractive but mainly because it is covered in chocolate. It is a Red Velvet cake with chocolate ganache and raspberries. It barely resembles the cake I found on the website by Wayne Johnson, but in my imperfectionist eye, it didn't matter. It was pretty and it tasted great. Also, I never made red velvet before and for Valentine's Day, I thought it would be the perfect meal ender.  I recommend you give it a try, it is incredibly easy and wonderfully sinful.  Is it heart smart?  No, not by a long shot.  But a small piece is enough to satisfy even the biggest chocolate lover.

Getting our lives back on track

Just about four weeks ago, while the hubs was preparing to go to work, he collapsed and fell to the kitchen floor.  Two ambulances arrived, paramedics, trip to local hospital, many tests, more tests and finally a trip to Maine Medical Center filled out the day.  The following Tuesday his aortic valve and ascending aorta were replaced.  The next Friday they implanted a pacemaker.  Needless to say, since that day, we have been visited by medical people who have kept up testing and trying to get all the numbers right.  He is really on the mend now, seemed to have turned a corner last Tuesday and got more energy and more interest in doing things.  Wednesday last we went back to the surgeon for a post-op and he was deemed to be fine and we went to dinner at David's 388 www.davids388.com   on Cottage Road in South Portland to celebrate.  We started out with Baby iceberg wedges with Maine cluster tomato and crispy bacon with blue cheese dressing.   Paul ordered Ginger and scallion crusted salmon with wasabi mashed potato and sesame snow peas and asparagus and I had special of the night consisting of haddock topped with lobster on mashed with a fabulous flavored cream sauce.  A bottle of Malbec and a shared decadent dessert and we were very happy people.  I highly recommend this restaurant.  The mains are $14, starters are $8 and salads $10.  The food is superb and the service is impeccable.  Well done Davids.