27 Years and Counting
Supposedly, I came home from my first day of nursery school and announced, "Mom, I met my new best friend, Aimee!" Within a few years, our families had become friends, and since, we've been a part of each other's lives, through the highs and lows of life.
Aimee and her husband and two kids live in Florida. Andy, Aimee's younger brother, now lives in Portland. He trained and worked as a professional chef (a profession of great respect, in my opinion); a career change landed him a job at a cheese distributor. Not your average Kraft American singles distributor, but one with cheese with wonderful sounding names, like parmigano-reggiano, cows milk manchego, mahon, camembert, humboldt fog and countless others. Aimee with kids in tow, plus Aimee and Andy's dad and his family were in Portland at the tail end of a long road trip. A three-hour drive from Seattle to Portland and it was time for a reunion.
I have to boast - Andy is an amazing host. He kept us well lubricated and well fed. I loved "Andy's Southern Iced Tea" and am buying some pomegranate juice to add to margaritas, after watching him add homemade berry syrup to his concoctions. I was especially enchanted with the cheese plate (of which I'll post a picture, as soon as someone - Nilay? Gavin? - helps me figure out this user unfriendly program). Some runny raw cow milk, more runny goat cheese and a few firmer ones to round out the dish. He pulled out a particularly interesting fresh buffalo mozzarella, which to me, tasted of toasted almonds.
He grilled chicken and veggie skewers for dinner; the poultry was marinated in something pungent (ingredients are a mystery) and orzo salad. I supplied a New York cheesecake with strawberry compote for dessert. Plus wine, of course.
Since this blog is about food and wine, and as an extension of the wine, alcohol, it's worth noting that being around a 4-year old has it perks. Not only was Russell a super nice kid, he also proved quite capable of happily fetching me a beer. Adam, you've trained your son well :)