I'm back from a wonderful post-birthday dinner with an old friend from my Navy days (in the mid-80s) who lives and works in Oakland.
Our paths cross very seldom, but we stay in touch. So when I got a "let's catch up" invite for a birthday dinner I was more than glad to indulge.
I had a wonderful soup entree....kidney beans, white beans, and orzo with vegetables and shreds of meat in a robust saffron-tinged broth (to DIE for...).
The entree, rack of lamb with garlic-mashed potatoes and steamed veggies, hit just the right balance of plain and fancy. I ordered medium rare, and a rosy pink hue stretched from the center all the way out to the edges of the loin. It was served with a merlot-mint reduction sauce -- the red wine, cooked down until just the fruit and acid remained; and a handful of mint was evident in the sauce. I am still savoring this entree...and it's been nearly two hours since I finished.
It was polished off with a nice large glass of red Sirrah.
We chatted back at his condo for about an hour while I caught up on his doings (I caught him up on my doings during dinner).
A promise of staying in touch and doing something together real soon ended the evening.
A most pleasant time.
