Mishmash

This post is a mash up of what I've been up to since I last posted. Let's start with the knitting.



Pattern: Pembroke Vest- Raveled here
Yarn: Dream in Color Classy- Dusky Aurora
Needles: KnitPicks Options in US 5
Date Started: 8/24/10
Date Finished: 9/1/10
Mods: None. But I do need to learn to read and follow a pattern. I had to restart 2-3 times.



I especially love the buttons I picked.



I'm working on the Laurel Socks from Toe Up Socks for Everybody. So far, so good.

I made salsa from tomatoes I grew.



And I canned it- But forgot to take pictures.



A little watery but tasty.

That's about it. I cleared the garden yesterday. And cleaned the gutters. Suddenly it really is feeling like fall.

Birthday Dinner- AKA Food Porn

Let me preface this by saying, I have the best husband. I got 2 fantastic dinners for my birthday last week. The first was totally unexpected on the actual day. Brian got home early and took me to Bouchon in Yountville. I had the charcuterie plate for an appetizer and a mountain of mussels and fries for dinner. Delicious.

But the main event came on Saturday night when we went to Ame in the St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco. In the spirit of full disclosure, Brian worked for the owners (Lissa and Hiro) at Terra in St. Helena when he was paying his way through college. That being said, this was one of the most amazing meals of my life. Starting out, we had champagne and an amuse bouche of smoked trout that I forgot to photograph. Oops.

Then, we moved on to cocktails and items from the sashimi bar. I had a citrus blossom martini. Brian had a "hirotini"- ginger and cucumber. Yum.



The Poke Appetizer- This was a culinary massage. I could have satisfied with just this.



The Kaisen Sashimi Salad. Can't believe the cuttlefish was so tender.

Next more cocktails- Rhubarb Rye for me. And a cherry rum drink for Brian.



For me- Foie Gras and Unagi Napoleon. Maybe the best dish I've had in years. So rich and flavorful. Yet perfectly balanced and so incredibly lush. I'm spoiled.



For Brian- Octopus carpaccio. Fresh, fresh, fresh.

Finally, the main courses- with wine paired by the sommalier. Did I mention I'm spoiled?



Brian had the fish special- Halibut cheeks and short rib tortellini



Whole lobster with uni and yuzu butter for me. Seriously? Decadence upon decadence. It just never stopped. In fact, we were so full and thrilled that we couldn't possibly eat more.

But we didn't get off so easy.



This was frozen yogurt with melon soup that the kitchen sent us for my birthday. I lagged in taking the pic. So we'd already had a couple of bites. Oops, again. Anyway, perfectly refreshing and incredible.

Not a terrible way to turn 33.