Viewing post #260575 by Ditchlily

Thanks everyone. I had a great birthday Friday.

I had this nice long post all typed in Saturday morning and then the computer went blue screen and rebooted itself (a recurring problem that is in the works to correct.) I lost all that I had typed and kind of lost interest (for the moment) in retyping it.

Trying again.

My parents called to sing me a Happy Birthday (in two part harmony as usual ) and we had a nice chat. We talked about books that we had read recently and I was speechless when my 80 year old father asked me if I had read the book he had just finished....50 Shades of Grey! Nope. Even if I had, I am so NOT telling him!

Friday night my DH surprised me with a bouquet of a dozen red roses! We left the kids at home happily eating sushi (yes they like it and we can get it at Publix grocery store). My DD likes California rolls and my DS likes Inari (sushi rice in a pocket of fried soybean curd). We went to a restaurant called Pauli’s. Overall the food was great with a few minor complaints. We had a couple of cocktails and then went on to the appetizers. We each ordered one and then shared. The Bruschetta was really good, a Grilled Foccacia with some kind of soft herbed cheese (goats?) with fire roasted tomatoes and red peppers on top. Yummy! The second, wood-fire grilled Sea Scallops on a bed of Angel Hair Pasta, Roasted Mushrooms and Pesto was very tasty, but I was extremely disappointed with the portion size. At $13 a pop, I expect more than two scallops, especially when the waiter had described the portion as more like 3-4, plenty to share. Both our entrées came with soup or salad and we both chose the signature Spinach Salad served with Red Onion & Boiled Egg with warm Apple Smoked Bacon Vinaigrette, very nice! My DH had a yearning for steak, so he chose a hefty 18 oz, bone-in Ribeye, grilled on a wood-fire and served with Grilled Onion Rosemary Butter, “Garlicky” Broccoli and Chive Mashed Potatoes. I had a bite and it was tasty, but I liked my entrée better, a roasted New Zealand Rack of Lamb drizzled with Dijon Aioli, roasted asparagus and some kind of couscous. We had a Rodney Strong Merlot with dinner and finished it off with coffee (decaff for me, thank you very much!) and two very sinful crème brulees with berries on top. I ended up taking two of the four lamb chops home and ate them for dinner last night. Almost as good the second time around.

My daylilies put on quite a show and I will post pictures of them later. Here is one to tantalize: Lip Smack 5-18 FFO