Dinner Dates

I have been eating some really amazing meals lately. A few of them I cooked on my own… but the last few weeks the dinners that stick out in my mind are my fancy dinners out with girlfriends.  The good food, the good company, the wine, the conversations… upon describing my foodie dates a friend of mine asked “are you sure you aren’t into chicks?” Yes T, I’m 100% sure I’m not a lesbian…(even in spite of that one somewhat sexy dream I had about Natalie Portman, I’m pretty sure just about every human has had that dream) but there is something about sharing a great conversation over a good meal that just resonates… romantic or no, my dinner dates have been fabulous, and just the grown up break I’ve needed out of puppyville.

  

A few weeks ago in Seattle a college friend and I indulged in a fancy dinner on the water… there were cocktails, wine, meat and cheese plates, seared, tuna, truffle mashed potatoes… melt in your mouth goodness. But that really stood out among all the food was the crispy pork belly. It was, in a word, perfection. You could tell because we both stopped talking, our eyes sort of rolled back, and we immediately slowed down to savor every last bite.  I will be thinking about that pork belly for a good long while.Seriously get the RILLAUDS!

Sunday night I finagled a speaking role at a Plate &Pitchfork dinner at Champoeg Farms. This meant, free wine, free dinner, and an extra ticket.  So I called up my friend Mari, and off we went to a dinner in a field, on a farm surrounded by chickens, turkeys, pigs, and open spaces. I didn’t bring my camera, and I didn’t actually get a copy of the menu, so I can’t tell you exactly what we had, and what order it came in. I can tell you there was a chilled corn soup with basil crème fraiche,  a grilled romaine salad wrapped in prosciutto. There was pork from the farm that was incredible, and couscous with Harissa… overall I wasn’t a huge fan of the dessert, but there was goat cheese rolled in berries, and strong strong coffee. The wine was delish, and once again the company was divine.

a really bad cell phone photo of the grilled romaine

Recently, my friend Beth, put together and organized the 100 mile diet challenge through the local slow food chapter. Last night was the celebratory dinner at a local eatery downtown. I grabbed my co-workers and headed out for a truly wonderful 100% local meal. The salad was fresh and crisp, the grits were creamy, the peaches were sweetened with honey. The pork was good (not as good as the other two mentioned pork dishes… but still good). 

Red Ridge Ladies at Community Plate

I’m so lucky to live in a place where fabulous restaurants can be found on every corner, good company is easy to find, and local ingredients are always on the forefront of everyone’s mind. I’m also lucky to live in an apartment with a garden, and a climate that supports a growing season! But more about my garden bounty and what I’ve been cooking another time.