friends, food, & fun

On Friday I was able to meet up with Amberly, one of my old roommates, at Temple Square and visit with her and have dinner. We tried to convince Suzanne to call off from work and join us be she couldn't. We hadn't seen each other for year and it was fun to catch up. We got too busy chatting and I forgot to take a picture of our little get together. But after she went back to her hotel I remembered my camera in my bag so I took some pictures of the temple at dusk.

On Saturday I went with Ruby & Wendell downtown to the Farmer's Market and did a little shopping there. It was really fun and I bought some really good Asiago bread and fresh peas. It was a lot of fun and I think I might have to go down every Saturday to buy fresh produce and goodies. After we got back from Farmer's Market Ruby and I did a little yard work around the apartment (the things we do for cheaper rent...). It was the first time that Ruby had ever mowed a lawn so I had to document the special occasion for her. She did a pretty good job for a first time!

That night Ruby had invited six of her friends to Holly's house and had Wendell make dinner for us (he's a chef). It was required that if we accepted the invitation we would have to at least taste everything that was made. No excuses - unless it was for allergies. It was so good and a lot of fun. I had to take pictures of the food because it was beautiful! We started off with some Asiago Basil bread and Lemon Chocolate Mint bread served with a roasted red pepper humus. That was followed by a green spring salad with champagne vinigerette dressing. He then served a red curry beef stew that had yogurt and toasted coconut on top.

The next course sample was a cold pear ginger soup and a melon chaser. In between each course we had time to sit around and visit and let the last course digest while Wendell worked to whip up the next entree.

The fourth course was barbecued shrimped with gold, red, and candy striped beets served on the cooked beet greens. Now, you all should know that I am not a shrimp lover - at all. But being brave and sticking to the rules I tried it and it actually wasn't too bad. The flavor was great and Wendell, knowing that 3 of us didn't really like shrimp, cooked them a little longer than normal so that weren't so slimy and raw. The beets, I loved!

The fifth course was a pork tenderloin served with mashed Russian Blue potatoes, golden raspberries, and drizzled with a chipolte sauce.

We finished off the dinner with dessert which was a sample of three different taste bud delights. There was a slice of lemon pound cake with lemon curd, nutella, and red & golden raspberries. The second bite was a ginger and nut crusted graham cracker with a small scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and red cinnamon sprinkles. Last but not least was a grilled peanut butter and orange marmalade sandwich with maple drizzled over it. It was all so good and we all pretty much waddled out of there when it was all done. Wendell did a great job and was always willing to explain to us what he was doing and serving and answer any questions we had. It was a fun night and if anyone is needing a dinner or event catered you should really check into hiring Wendell - it's totally worth it!

I must say that it's nice to have Ruby dating a chef because some nights I benefit from it when they cook dinner. I offered to cook a meal for them, to make up for all of their food that I've eaten, but I have to admit, I'm a little intimidated to have Wendell there watching. Guess we'll see how that goes!