old + new friends + muscadines - (as much) verbage

Saturday was just dreamy.



Bethany’s birthday celebration rocked my socks off. We toured a small winery in Shelbyville, tasted their wares (I agree with Bethany that most were ridiculously sweet, but I bought a few bottles to give as gifts this Christmas. The red muscadine was my favorite), and had a small picnic outside under a tree. I tried and liked smoked gouda. I purchased some blackberry jam and spread it on bread with some brie...it was like buttah.



While we were all having a gay old time, little Dylan Thomas Mackin was working away in the kitchen back home. A word about the couple: Dylan and Bethany are definitely a force to be reckoned with. They both know what's up. Dylan is currently working a The Five Senses as their dessert chef.

We used to cook dinner together quite often when I lived next door to them 4 years ago. First of all, Dylan Thomas is named after Dylan Thomas, the poet, and Bethany has been one of the best friends I've ever known. She's an encouraging type. She was and is a sweet baby...& you have no hope in beating her at Scrabble.

Dylan produced a veggie dish and a fish dish. We decided to get one of each so we could try everything. Here's the set list:



The main course was simple and amazing: Salmon, or crusted, mixed-mashed bean fillets, with asparagus, mashed potatoes, and buttery melted tomatoes. The salmon was amazingly cooked, just rare enough but not too much. The texture couldn't be beat. It, also, was like buttah. The bean fillet tasted like the best meat loaf I've ever had. The crunchy outside combined with the crunchy peppers and onions inside in a beautiful way. The texture was 100% perfect on both plates. Sometimes I think that's the most important part of a meal for me.



And DESSERT!!! Oh my. Thai Basil Ice Cream with a dab of caramel on cranberry apple cobbleresqueness...





This meal was truly sexual to me and I felt as if I just needed to lie on the couch and cuddle afterward...However, there were games to be played.

Mark's here with the commentary:
I have to say, our team was pretty stacked - Wendy, James, and myself. Wendy was a real sleeper competitor, providing clutch answers to my charades performances: what other team could guess "short-order cook" and "Queen Elizabeth" in less than 10 seconds? James provided great spatial intelligence skills, rendering very effective drawings, with or without sight, that enabled us to take an early lead - Yes, I'm still gloating. We won, and hopefully Bethany will send us the photos of our victory poses soon.





Overall, the night was sweet. I made fast friends with Bethany's new bandmate Susan. Every so often I meet someone and I feel as if we are kismitly (now an adverb!) linked. We made up a very successful (in my opinion) conceptual dance involving a windmill motion and a rolly chair. I hope I get to see them all again soon.


This may be my favorite pic of the night.