Family

Christmas in Portland with the kids.  We've not been away from Juneau for Christmas since the kids were little!  Both of them with jobs that required them to be there both the day before and the day after, it made much more sense for us to travel to them.

We'll be making Christmas dinner here in the condo, with a kitchen more sparsely equipped than mine, it might just be more of a challenge!  Last night for Christmas Eve, we went to Saltys on the Columbia.   It's such a pleasure to go to dinner with your kids as new adults!  We were seated in a quiet corner, which we promptly made not so quiet.   We had one of the best servers we have had in some time.  Selected Celeilia Beretta 2001 Amarone Della Valpolicella, a new favorite.  Ironically Amanda at 20, is probably the most knowlegeable about wine having just graduated from Western Culinary here in Portland and having served her externship at a winery.  A sly taste pronounced it "velvety" and "tasting of chocolate".  It was wonderful. 

Mac wanted mussel shooters to start, which luckily they didn't have, but they did have great oyster shooters instead.  We had to have the "Chilled Seafood Tower", king and dungies, more oysters, grilled prawns, and marinated mussels and clams as a starter.  Candy and Amanda had Spinach & Feta Ravioli, made with Crimini mushrooms, Kalamata olives, sweet onions, and tomato bisque.  Mac chose fresh Maine lobster, no wonder when Mom and Dad are paying!  I chose the Pan Seared Diver Scallops with creamy polenta, sauce puttanesca, served on the side as recommended by our server, and fried leeks.   Great conversation and time spent with the kids.  Miss the days of when they were little, but very happy the days of adulthood are here.

So now Christmas dinner is in the works and I (candy here) find that I wasn't too thorough in my examination of the contents of the kitchen!  I've got lots of limes, lemons, 3 apples, 2 cups of flour to figure out something to make for desert - we'll see!  In the mean time we bought a beautiful prime rib at a butcher shop down the road and some nice asparagus.  Interesting to cook in a kitchen not your own and a pantry/refrigerator stocked the same way...

We did buy a nice champagne and wine for dinner, so perhaps no one will notice the odd

desert I might come up with!

Merry Christmas everyone, Candy and Dick