weekend report: april 26-27

As John and I collapsed in a heap on the sofa last night, we looked at each other and said simultaneously, “What a good weekend.” Jinx. While it was a somewhat typical weekend for us—see friends, eat good food, do kid stuff, exercise, get the house in order for the next week—all was done in such a fashion that we weren’t worn out.

Saturday—I spent the day getting ready for dinner guests. The house had been cleaned earlier in the week so it was in unusually good shape. I ran errands on Grand Avenue with the boys—Creative Kidstuff for a birthday gift, Wuollets for dessert (brownies for the adults, cupcakes for the kidlets), Kowalski’s for groceries, and Whole Foods for the grocery items we couldn’t find a Kowalski’s (typical). Dinner was really nice. Our guests brought amazing bottles of wine (chateauneuf du papes and cotes du rhones) and happy demeanors. For pre-dinner nibbles, I served a nice spread of domestic raw cow’s milk cheese, including the Thomasville (GA) Tomme that is so amazing.

Typically when I have a dinner party, I try to keep the menu pretty low-key by preparing a one-pot meal—a fish stew, paella, or coq au vin—and a green salad tossed with goodies, such as cheese, nuts, and dried or fresh fruit. Or we grill. Simple but delicious meals, though, truth be told, it's quite a bit of work to make dinner look like it wasn't any work at all. Also, we always feed the kids first so they stay out of the adults’ hair while we’re talking about them over our meal (these week, those of us who aren’t already at Capitol Hill received our acceptance letters for the next school year)*.

I tried something different for this dinner party and served a first course and a main course. To start, we had white anchovies and avocado on crostini with basil oil, which is one of our favorite small plates at 112 Eatery. As a main, I broiled arctic char, then placed the filets on a bed of Israeli couscous and dressed them with an orange-pistachio vinaigrette. We also had a bit of Swiss chard, sautéed in olive oil with garlic, on the side. We drank a 2006 Sharecropper’s pinot noir from Oregon, which was fitting since the fish was from the Oregon coast. I know we should be eating locally, but we’re between seasons. Dessert was local, though: warm brownies from Wuollet’s, garnished with Izzy’s Hot Brown Sugar ice cream.

Sunday—I had a very good yoga session at Colin and Helena’s. I think my flexibility is improving, and I'm definitely not as creaky and sore at the end of a practice. Though, practice is the key word. I need to develop a practice beyond once every other Sunday. The rest of the day was mellow. John took the boys and a friend out to run around so I did the errands and picked up the house in peace. Made the year’s best batch of guacamole. Heck, this is just a warm-up for the season. I have come to the conclusion that guac is not about the lime or garlic, and it’s certainly not about the quality of the avocados. The key is chiles, which are oh so important for zip and a fresh, green-tasting balance to the raw garlic and citrus. I even had a chance to read—Miss Pettigrew.

*Our acceptance letter was the good news/bad news of the week. Good news: Winston got into Capitol Hill, ISD 625's gifted/talented school, for first grade. Bad news: Simon did not get in. Placement of qualified learners (minimum score on a standardized test) is done by lottery so it was just dumb luck that he didn't get accepted. We really like where we are now, so I would have few reservations about staying, but since other friends have been accepted, Simon's feeling left out. I have already mailed in Winston's acceptance, securing a space, and will call the placement office weekly until Simon gets bumped up the waiting list.