holiday dinner with the CGs

Two CGs last night, Courtney and her sister Chelsea. CG, Conrad, and I usually do a big pre-Christmas splurge dinner, cashing in opentable.com points to do so. This year we changed the routine because we knew Chelsea would be up from Bloomington. A dinner out would have been fine, of course, but how much nicer for Chelsea to see our home, and for all of us to have a leisurely evening around our dining table.

Our second little dinner party of the week, in fact. I didn't blog dinner with Brian and Giuseppe the other night, though that, too, was a very good time. We started similarly last night with some cheeses, olives, almonds, and crackers. Because of the holiday mood, though, we opened a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Laura and Michael had given us and toasted the Christmas season with a little verve.

Salads were up first: romaine salads with a pumpkin seed dressing. A bottle of Villa Maria unoaked Chardonnay accompanied that.

I had mulled various roasted meat and stew ideas for last night, but in the end I went with fish. Halibut with chermoula, some cauliflower puree, a bit of steamed red pepper and Brussels sprouts.



The fish baked up well, and I was pleased with it. CG had brought over a bottle of Scheid claret she'd bought on a visit to that winery earlier this year, and it went very well with the meaty fish. I liked the wine a great deal, and I look forward to enjoying the Pinot Noir, from the same winery, that she gave to Conrad.

The whole evening was just such a terrific time - so much for us to chat about and laugh over. We pulled crackers and wore the crowns from inside. Between the salad and the fish we opened our gifts and were grateful for those.

Chelsea made a pie for our dessert. Her crust puts almost any other one I've ever had to shame. Wow. My own pastry skills are meager at best, and I'd hesitate to serve her any of my perfunctory, too-chewy results. Her apple pie capped the evening magnificently. I warmed it gently in the oven, she sliced it up and plated it,
and I scooped up some cinnamon ice cream (a simple trick - soften store bought vanilla, mix in a very generous amount of cinnamon, refreeze) onto each plate. We sipped a bit of Quails Gate late harvest Optima, then made our way back to the comfy chairs to relax until CG's yawns told us it was time for the evening to end.

After all the hectic times in recent weeks, the contentment the season brings me yearly is sinking in. Ahhhhhh...