I’m spending my weekend catching up on my blogs. So, I’m going through this month and trying to expand on some memorable meals.
This year, we spread out our Valentine’s Celebration over three days. We started in Lodi with a decadent tour of the wineries. The next day, we celebrated the romantic holiday at Ella in Downtown Sacramento. My co-worker recommended the spot for special occasion dining and other metrobloggers posted decent reviews.
Overall, Ella was a sophisticated culinary experience. We followed the informed suggestions from our server and savored the delicious servings of fresh shellfish, veggies, meat and more.
I enjoyed the duck and duck risotto. The chef served it medium-rare and that brought out the complex, fleshy tones. I loved the combination of those flavors with the crispy duck skin. We also started-off dinner with a half-dozen raw oysters from the East Coast. Our appetizers were served with the traditional marinara sauce plus a champagne vinegar mignonette.
For dessert, we shared a hot, sweet apple tart plus a tasty scoop of homemade cinnamon ice cream. The ice cream scoop tasted so creamy and I was tempted to get seconds.
We decided to cook for each other on Valentine’s Day. Mark made the linguini with clams and I made the salmon with prosciutto. We’ve made these dishes about 6 years ago. This time around, both recipes seemed easy to do. Mark’s pasta sauce with white wine turned out delicate and it complimented the clams. I thought the salmon’s pink color was perfect for this romantic holiday. I’m always tickled by the simple ingredients transforming fresh fish into something elegant: olive oil, prosciutto, salt and pepper. Yum!
Folks at work got all hyped up about the new Indiana Jones trailer. Mark’s pretty excited about the fourth installment for the Jones adventure. I suspect I know what we’re doing for our birthdays in May.
COVINA, CA — I’m up before dawn and browsing my Google Reader goodies. I enjoyed my quick weekend trip to So Cal. I ate too much good food and it was lovely to hang out with my family.
My nephew and niece are getting taller and sparkling with personality. My dad’s now a pro at making paella. I loved my Ninong’s chicken adobo. I’m still trying to figure out his balance of soy sauce, vinegar and other spices. And my cousin has an adorable, human-friendly puppy, Kai.
And I keep trying to get my Daisy’s attention on the web cams. Her camp in Elk Grove has several web cams set-up - inside and outside. I was a little worried about her being left by herself in the puppy area. It was like being in Solitary! However, the camp folks said she was submissive and a little defensive with the other campers. Apparently this is normal for puppies on their first overnight stay at the camp. I wasn’t sure if the web cams gave me peace of mind or just left me a little obsessive over Daisy.
Overall, it’s good to be home. I’m grateful that it’s so easy to get here from Vacaville and Sacramento. I’ve had a chance to fuel up on good home cooking. I also had plenty of time to relax and remember that I’m more than a machine that’s racing to meet deadlines and demands at work. I’m ready for my next crazy day in the newsroom.
