GOURMET GROUP MEETS IN MENDOCINO 10/18/08

The Gourmet Group met in Mendocino last weekend.

As always, the food was creative and delicious, the beverages plentiful, and the conversation lively, as would be expected with a group of friends who have been meeting like this for at least 30 years.







Our hosts started the evening off with Cheese and Crackers and Grilled Stuffed Fresh Figs.



The Piedmonters, served an Arugula Salad with Prosciuto-wrapped Stuffed Peppers and Flat Bread made from a "secret" recipe.







The main course, prepared by our hosts, was a Ragu of Barbecued Baby Back Ribs and Sausage, served over Pasta.





For dessert, the Creekers served Green Tea Madeleines and Green Tea White Chocolate Brownies.



Can't wait until next time.

JIMMY BUFFETT COMES TO TOWN with THE YEAR OF STILL HERE

Just about every year, Jimmy Buffett, who will be 62 in December, comes to the San Francisco Bay Area, with a new tour. This year it is called The Year of Still Here.

Last night was his night at the Shoreline Ampitheatre, an outdoor performance venue in Mountain View.

My friend Ruth and I, loyal Parrotheads that we are, always attend his shows. In fact, last night was Ruth's second time to see this year's tour; she saw it this summer in St. Louis.

It takes about an hour and a half in rush hour traffic to drive to Shoreline from home.

We started our journey with a little photo shoot in her driveway.


The thing on my head is a Shark, the perfect accessory, particularly when Jimmy sings Fins. Jimmy Buffett concerts are big costume parties...yes, I really am wearing a hula skirt over my jeans...it's late October in Northern California and this concert was outdoors, you know. I completed my outfit with Parrot earrings, a lei, and a Jimmy Buffett shirt from a past concert. Ruth stuck with "jewelry"...a tiki doll necklace and a few leis.

We stopped at Kinders for Sandwiches and salads for our tailgate dinner, and off we drove.

Even arriving two hours before showtime, we found the parking lot alive with tailgaters...had we wanted a Margarita from our neighboring tailgaters, they would have gladly poured us one. And, some of our other neighbors were grilling Cheeseburgers from Paradise.



My Blondes for Obama button was nothing compared to this gal's Parrotheads 4 Obama sign.

Jimmy's crew liked it so much, they featured it as part of the video that was shown during the concert.

We had some of our best seats ever, in the 15th row, in clear sight of a big video screen and of the stage...of course the huge guy who came in late and was seated in front of us, did cramp our style a bit by blocking our view when we took a break from dancing to sit down to catch our breath for a moment.


Jimmy is looking good and shows no sign of wearing out. He was onstage and singing for close to two and a half hours, with just one very short break.

When he first came on stage, he informed the audience that if they had come to see Tina Turner, they were at the wrong show. Tina, now age 68, just made her tour through the Bay Area. Jimmy acknowledged his desire to keep up with her.





One of the highlights of the show was Jimmy singing with Nadirah Shakoor, one of his Reeferettes (backup singers). She has a distinctive and amazing voice and has just released a new album of her own, Nod to the Storyteller, which includes songs of her own and also her renditions of somel of Jimmy's songs. Her album is a tribute to Jimmy, with whom she has sung for 13 years.

The other Reeferette, Tina Gullickson has been with Jimmy for the same length of time.



After three encores, the show was over and we were on our way home...it was close to 1 a.m. when we said goodnight.

Elle & Louie go to the Pumpkin Patch

This afternoon, Louie, Jim, & Beverly took Elle for her first-ever visit to the Pumpkin Patch. When Elle wasn't trying to eat hay, she picked out a pumpkin to take home, checked out the animals at the Petting Zoo, and posed for pictures.




At the Petting Zoo, one of the goats was interested in Elle, but she kept him at bay with her barking. Louie has already made friends with the goats and the pig, and just ignored them all.




Then it was time for a photo shoot. First with Jim sitting on hay bales.



Then, with Beverly, climbing through a hay bale tunnel.



It was just fun to look around at scarecrows and piles of pumpkins.



Finally, Beverly took Elle for a ride on the straw horse.





Lots of firsts for our girl and Louie made sure he showed her the ropes.

Isaac Mizrahi Comes to Town

Designer Isaac Mizrahi made his San Francisco stop on his book tour for his new book How To Have Style in the sleepy suburb of Danville, close to where I live.

The event was planned by Rakestraw Books, a thriving independent bookstore in Danville. It was also a fundraiser in benefit of Wardrobe for Opportunity, an Oakland, California, based organization which provides its clients with clothing and accessories, head to toe outfits, for job interviews and, when the clients get jobs, with a week's worth of work outfits. Wardrobe serves both men and women.

As a fan on Isaac, I could not pass up the chance to meet him.

Many years ago I splurged on an Isaac Mizrahi jumper and still remember how elegant and fashionable I felt whenever I wore it. Most recently, I've been buying my Isaac Mizrahi clothing at Target...Isaac was the first "name" designer to make his clothing available at moderate prices.

At any rate, the event was at a local country club and started promptly at 7 p.m. with Isaac talking a bit about himself and his work. He answered audience questions and offered his advice on style. One of his words of wisdom was to treat yourself to a REALLY good haircut and color so you will know what your hair should look like when it is "right." When talking about his 8-year old Collie mix dog, Harry, he described Harry's energy by saying,"Harry is 8, which is the new 5." Lots of laughs from the audience.

After the formal part of the program, there was a receiving line and that's when I got to say hello, shake his hand, and even tell him about my "vintage" jumper.




The evening ended with a fashion show of Isaac's Target line, modeled by Wardrobe for Opportunity Clients.

A fun evening!