Two Evenings Out = One Morning In

It has been a couple of really great and social evenings, which means that life has gotten in the way of the blog.

Friday night, Christopher and I went to my college French professor's home for cocktails and food and a few hours of really great conversation with friends. We've done this a few times in the past, and it's always a lovely, relaxed, evening. The conversation is always good. The food is usually just the right mix. And there's always good wine.

One of the other guests brought along a "pork terrine" with apricots on top, which she had picked up at a new cheese shop on Grand Avenue in St Paul (which is an offshoot of the France44 cheeseshop in Edina -- I couldn't find a website for them, but I did find a blog). It was really amazing, and went so well with the rest of the food.

After most of the hors d'oeuvres were gone, we also tried out some liqueurs, including a "yellow" Chartreuse. I had tried some "green" Chartreuse back in college and remember it tasting like pine (and feeling like pine needles in my throat). The yellow version was much nicer, and a perfect capper for the evening.

Last night, I was invited by our friend Darci to go to a fundraising event which a friend of hers was on the board for. (Don't worry -- I didn't leave Christopher home alone. He was at the opera with his sister.) It was for the Phillips Eye Institute, and took place at Cafe Lurcat and Bar Lurcat just off of Loring Park (oddly enough, their website has basically no information). When we drove by and saw a large tent outside, we were a little nervous that there'd be a bunch of people crammed into a tent on a chilly October evening.

We walked past the giant puppet greeters (from In the Heart of the Beast puppet theater) and into the tent where, thankfully, they simply checked us in before sending us inside. We were on the early side for arrivals, so we got to pick up wine and champagne from one of the servers as we perused the art and made our way toward the food.

There were nifty little appetizers being passed (the Parmesan crisp with red pepper cream cheese was a favorite), and the actual "buffet" was amazing. We tried a little pot roast, some roast cauliflower and mashed potatoes, some roasted red pepper pizza, a shredded apple salad, and a nifty little lettuce wrap. There were a few clunkers, but overall it was really amazing food. (And did I mention we had gotten in for free thanks to Darci's friend?)

We met up with Darci's ticket-supplying friend, and then wandered back past the quartet singing in the corner to check out the other side of the place. Beyond the jazz quartet where we had come in, the food was more finger-food (chicken wing "lollipops" and mini burgers and fries and onion rings), and, outside beyond the Scotch tasting, was the "s'mores" bar -- which was, quite frankly, the best food of the evening.

This morning, Christopher and I are hanging out and just relaxing. Two social nights in a row mean that this morning is going to be a slow go. And I'm fine with that.