Dinner with Cousin Alan

This is the kind of family it is: John's Cousin Alan comes to town, a once in 17 year event, and John goes to Skagway for the day, missing the entire event. That's OK, I'm always up for a to-do, so I invited our friends Charlotte, whose husband was derailed by a Rotary whoopdeedoo, and the Bennetts. Planned to pull out all the stops: Fresh fish (yep, investigation confirms that this member of the somewhat picky East Coast contingent eats fish, specifically salmon) (oops the store is out of salmon....have to go with fresh spring halibut! hope he likes that. )(If he doesn't everyone else will.) sauteed in butter with a white wine and caper sauce, a potato salad, steamed bok choy, a tossed Romaine salad, AND I sprang out of bed early to bake a strawberry rhubarb pie with the first of the season's rhubarb.

Relaxing in the afternoon checking our various Facebook spaces, he noted, with an "Ugh" that another friend of his was baking a strawberry rhubarb pie....oh well! He can have ice cream! It was obviously the day to bake rhubarb pie!

Started the evening off with Negronis, some in martini glasses, some with soda over ice. (Pet peeve: unfill ice cube trays in the freezer....) moved on to a Giesen Sauvignon Blanc and a new Malbec that is quite nice. The Bennetts brought bruschetta to start.

Turns out several of the quests had qualms about rhubarb, but the servings seemed to disappear, and there is still some for breakfast this morming, so all good, I guess.

I enjoyed it, and a real treat to visit with Alan! In the category 5 Dork Department, we Facebooked across the living room to each other....love to befriend you too!