Fantasy Dinner Party, Who Made the Cut

It is a fun question that has been around for a while....

Who would you invite to a fantasy dinner party if you could choose anyone throughout history?

I love the idea of an outdoor beautifully set dinner during sunset flowing into a night under the stars. 
Great conversation, amazing food, fabulous music, wonderful memories. 
I truly believe there is nothing better than family and friends around the table sharing life, laughter, love and food.

One of the sad things I learned while researching this is that most of the guests chosen by people were men. 
Then as I was compiling my list it became obvious that I was choosing my guests the same way....mostly men. 
Where were the famous women? 
The ones you want to get to know, women who have made a difference, those who have lived the edge of life? 
Which brings me to this....

There are plenty of absolutely beautiful famous women, but quite frankly they bore the hell out of me. 
I like women with depth and spunk. 
The ones who laugh out loud and wear their heart on their sleeve. 
Someone you don't easily forget.

I also know that an eclectic mix of people inspires the most interesting conversation, and a few 'wild childs' make 
for a great party. 
We have 6 warm fuzzy guests, 4 people of power, 2 entertainers and us.
This is also the seating order just to mix up the fun. 
As they say....'Let's do this'.

Grandma Hicks - because she meant so much to my husband as a little boy.

Fred - my love, my heart and soul.

Me - I wouldn't miss this for anything.
Bill Clinton - fun, need I say more?

Carol Burnett - laughter is definitely the best medicine
Mr Rogers - someone who values everyone's simple uniqueness. 
Cleopatra - she was the last Pharaoh of ancient Egypt, and had Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony under her spell.

Santa - he is the very bestest, thanks Dezirae for reminding me.

Mary Magdalene - because of this - she was devoted to Jesus Christ, present at the crucifixion, the first person 
to see Jesus after his resurrection.

Freddie Mercury - so much talent and flamboyance. 

Marie Antoinette - 'Off with their heads'. 

Ghandi - a peacemaker.

Jane Goodall - she is gracious, compassionate, an environmentalist and Chimpanzee enthusiast. 

Napoleon Bonaparte - the short guy complexed conquerer. 

There is not a photo of Grandma Hicks available so this represents her...'Love'

  


     


                


                   


                   


  

After this the first guests I would choose to join us for the fun would be my parents, my children, my siblings and 
their families.


CHEFS for the night would be Ferran Adria of elBulli in Spain who is the leader in molecular gastronomy, and yes, 
this is the type of food you can expect from him....

  



Thomas Keller of French Laundry in Napa Valley, demanding perfection.

                

They would get creative freedom with whatever I have choose for dinner....possibly lobster, risotto, asparagus, and 
heirloom tomato salad. 
Creme brulee for dessert with champagne. 
Cheese, fruit and wine, chocolates and champagne. 
Tequila shots throughout. 

THE ENTERTAINMENT

Bob Marley 

Reggae is great for poolside barbeques, cleaning house leisurely and road trips. Dinner parties? Oh yeah.



The 3 Tenors
This is music at its passionate best, it takes your breath away.



The Rolling Stones
After dinner it's party time and now you get to dance your toes off with one of the best groups ever.
Yes, all the entertainers are men. Oh well.  




So, given the same challenge, who would be at your fantasy dinner party?

Raw Vegan And Surfers

Fried Avocado Mini-Tostado
Crispy Buckwheat Shell, Spicy Peppita Sauce, Chopped Spinach, Cilantro, Corn, Juliened Zucchini or Cucumber and Fried Avocado.


My favorite....
Chipotle Ranch Wrap
Carrot Flax Wrap filled with Spinach, Green Onions, Chopped Farm Fresh Vegetables, Peppita queso and Chipotle Ranch Dressing.


Portobello Soft Tacos
Marinated Portobello Taco with Spicy Cheese, Corn, Red Bell Pepper, Cilantro Salsa and macadamia Sour Crème on a Flax Taco Shell.


I just spent a few days with my daughters, one of which eats very healthy, vegan whenever possible. In Southern California many restaurant offer vegetarian and vegan on their menus because everyone weighs 110 pounds around there. Yes I am a whale.

I like to eat healthy because it tastes good and it feels good and then I can eat crappy with a clear conscience. I can do vegetarian very easily, but vegan means no dairy, no honey, no eggs, no anything that comes from an animal. What about happy cows in California? Yeah, I am not going to give up my cheese, butter, ice cream, sour cream or honey. I just want the animals treated well. Dominion = compassionate responsibility. I wish Christianity would realize that.

If we are going to do this then let's do it right. Raw vegan. Where I live a restaurant like that would last about 45 minutes, just long enough for the taco trucks to roll by.

So we went to one of her favorites '118 Degrees' in Costa Mesa which only offers raw vegan. To explain from their menu....
Why 118 Degrees?
118 Degrees is the commonly accepted temperature at which the natural enzyme value and nutritional contents of raw plant foods begin to break down and become useless for the body. One benefit of eating raw food is the energy derived from the enzymes and phyto-nutrients available in foods that are still living!
Nut Cheese?
Many people ask how we can have the word cheese on a vegan menu. The answer is that all of our cheeses are made by blending fresh herbs with sprouted nuts and seeds.

Unless you must have animal flesh to feel satiated this was really very good. Sort of like everything being a salad. We ordered the 3 items above, my favorite being the Chipotle Ranch Wrap.

**********

Also going on was the U.S. Open Surf Championships.
Beach, sunshine, surfers and lifeguards?
You don't have to slap me upside the head twice.








Now I don't think I look too bad for my age.
But....there is nothing like walking down the beach with your two daughters for a quick reality check.


I did meet a nice male friend though.
His name is Parker.
Look at those eyes, they could make a woman melt.

The County Fair

I swear, sometimes I think I am a hick at heart.
But no, I am also a bit of a snob.
Maybe I am just socially bi-polar.
To explain, I have always loved the good stuff. Cashmere when I was 8, Jaguars when I was 9, the list goes on. Now it is Aston Martins. I pretty much thought that I had been born to rich people and poor people stole me. Once at work, we were looking at the covers of the rag mags. On the cover of one enquiring minds sort was an older glamorous movie star, a Kathryn Hepburn type. The title said that the star was looking for her daughter that she had given up at birth. I yelled.... "Mama!".
I have no trouble visualizing myself lounging on a beautiful yacht, in the South Pacific islands, with a crew of gorgeous 25 year old men, the wonderful and amazing man who owns the yacht adores me and is feeding me strawberries from his lips as he begs me to marry him. And I weigh 125 pounds again, of course.
I despise hunting, I don't like camping, I hate housework, and morons and white trash. Except that I probably qualify as white trash when the fair comes. I am 52 and I still like to eat fried food, see who is at the beer booth again and go to the destruction derby. I am so embarrassed. Yep, if you have never been to a destruction derby, you haven't been to America. Sitting in the stands full of, let's say 'interesting people', beer buckets and beer bellies all around, the air thick with dust, cars slamming into each other over and over until smoke billows out, and what comes screaming from my mouth at a pitch unheard before? "GET HIM!!!!" What? There is something that just rips down into the trenches of my gut, words from a time living on the wrong side of the tracks that I would prefer to forget. Okay, I am going to just say it and crawl under the rug later....Destruction Derby? Hella' fun!
There you have it, socially bi-polar.


I got to work at the beer booth again with a bunch of friends from work. I have never ever liked beer. Ask any ex-boyfriend.
Have you ever been to a kegger? A party with beer in plastic cups, guys in white t-shirts, usually in an orchard, always a fight and no bathroom. Spank my butt and call me Charlie. I hated those parties back then but I went. At 18 I wanted to be at the symphony. Great, all I had to do was date 70 year olds.


Okay, back to working in the beer booth. It is a blast! You get to see everyone. You get to see everyone drinking too much. You get to see everyone kiss their neighbor, kiss their ex and kiss the guy they met 90 seconds ago. You get to see jeans that are too tight, boobs that are too naked and cowboy hats on everyone who doesn't have a cow. If you are lucky, which I was last time, you can get a guy to flash you his chest and belly for your Budweiser beads. Woo hoo doggie!


Ahh, the bright lights of the fried food walkway.
Too bad I can't hop the fence & sneak in like I used to.


One of the nicest things this evening was a gentleman asking about us working there. I said we volunteer this night for the American Legion. He told me he was a member and thanked me for helping.
It was my honor.

An Ode To Feta

I am so not loving customers this weekend!!!
We have 5 things we are supposed to do besides ring up and bag the groceries and take the money.
Smile
Greet
Engage
Sell
Thank
I smiled, I greeted, I engaged when I saw 3, count them, 3, containers of feta cheese by saying.
"What are you making with all this feta?"
Her response?
"You shouldn't comment on people's groceries."
It's not like she bought small size condoms and I said, "Whoa, bummer."
It is a eff'n grocery store, we sell groceries. That's what we talk about. What the hell should I talk about?
Nice weather.
How about them Yankee's.
My bunions are really painful today.
Aaaaaugh!
So, I continue ringing up the wench's groceries without saying a word until the end when I say as I am required to...."Is there anything else you need?"
Her response?
"You need to just stop talking."
So I circle her savings, and tell her how much she saved and say thank you, knowing that my speaking was unacceptable in her world of the damned.
She takes her groceries to the car.
I am now in tears.
She comes back in to complain that she has been made to feel poor by myself and others.
What?
I may never eat feta again.
Oh, and I don't actually have bunions.

Work Christmas Parties

Darlene and me. Wait, who snuck in the picture. We actually had no idea Kevin was there.

Years ago, in a time far far far away, I had my first sort of professional job. The Christmas party was a dinner dance for the Bank I worked for. Shock would put it lightly as I watched the people above me that I called Mrs. or Mr. get snockered off their suit and tie tushies and flirt/more with each other. I was wide eyed and 18. Not naive mind you, but these were mommies and daddies, these were people who could fire....me! I never looked at them the same at work after that.

When I began working at the supermarket, 32 years, 2 months and 5 days ago, it was pretty casual. You just don't expect much out of people who are covered in blood from cutting up dead animals and the rest of us who open boxes and punch prices. Once at the end of the party or the next morning we found a checker asleep behind the couch with one of the baggers and a low manager in the bushes. Now that was a party.

Another one included dinner at a restaurant and being asked to leave because we got into a food fight with another table. Evidently some people at our table also thought the salt and pepper shakers were party favors to take home. It was a fun night and the only time I have been kicked out of a place.

This year, bowling. Now I am not a bowling fan. It reminds me of Fred 'Twinkle Toes' Flinstone and I have issues from an ex who bowled, drank too much and flirted with trashy cocktail waitresses with me right there. The ones who wear their clothes too tight and their hair is dyed (it's an old country song). You understand about issues I assume. It is still an interesting crowd that a bowling alley attracts, sort of like roller skating rinks. Early on it was teens with not enough to do that reminded me of being a very lost teen myself at one time. Later there were a lot of, shall we say, not very feminine women. Now I don't have a problem with someones sexual tendencies, but I don't think it will be a place I will hang out at alone at night in the dark. Bowling is a little more cool now, they turn the lights down and have pretty moving lights down the sides of the lane, decent party music, a little light show and smoke. Smoke wasn't cool, it just looked foggy. I didn't take pics of the food because I was eating. Eating fried. Fried tater tots, fried onion rings, fried poppers, fried chicken strips, fried mozzarella, fried spicy chicken pieces and not fried quesadillas. And of course there was beer and tequila, though not for me this night. This turned out to be really fun, what with people stealing balls just as they were being thrown, bowling 2 at once in the same lane, sumo belly bounces, yeah, I like this group. I may actually bowl one day.

I am a fan of Stephen Lynch and he sings 'Bowling Song (Almighty Malachi Professional Bowling God). His songs can be a little crude but they are hilarious. If you get offended don't google him, actually don't look at the photos here, nothing x rated but definitely a tiny bit iffy.
"You watch me on your TV.
Say that my job is easy.
Say I am not athletic.
You think my sport's pathetic.
But you can't judge me 'till you walked a mile in my bowling shoes.
So I don't get all the ladies.
And my clothes are from the 80's
I am known throughout the valleys.
As the prophet of alleys.
And as I roll the ball I cry, "Let me bowl or let me die!"
I am mighty Malakai, the bowling god."
Check out Joey's manly form with the ball and the ladies.


Yep, these here are some of the fine men of our night....

First off we have Robert with his quite redneck t-shirt and c_ck necklace. Whooo doggie.


Up next is Jimmie, don't get your hopes up ladies, he's taken too.


And finally, Joey and his c_ck.


Then there are the ladies....
Me and Sara, the only 21 year old I would adopt. Except perhaps a pool boy named Julio.


Dez, 92 pounds and a bundle of energy, and Darlene, one of my sweetest friends.


Joey and me.


Joey and Sara.


Me, Tracy and Joey. Joey and I got in a lot of photos evidently.

Links 4 Amazing Young Men

How cute are these guys?


Okay, what do you think when your daughter says she is bringing home a band?
Batten the hatches?
Lock up the virgins?
Bring in the Calvary?
I just get excited for someone to entertain. Although entertain is a very loose term for my house and town, there isn't much to entertain with.
Curtis, Eric, Robbie and Robbie (I went alphabetically so no one gets their feelings hurt).
Backwards...Robbie, Robbie, Eric and Curtis.
Mixed letters, one of each...BECIROTUS.
Had enough?
Oh one more, backwards mixed letters...SUTORICEB.
Okay I'm spent.

Any way, these are such great guys. Every one of them. Adorable, interesting, personable and very, very talented. They play Indie Rock. Robbie's voice is the kind that steals your daughter heart. Eric is on the guitar. Robbie plays bass. Curtis on drums.
And let me add, perfect guests. Did I mention that they are really cute?
I can't believe they called Modesto 'Cow Town'. That is pretty funny.

They left today to continue their tour in San Jose tonight, then on to...
April 1 - Grant and Green, San Francisco, CA
April 2 - Old Ironside's, Sacramento, CA
April 3 - Aragon High (noontime), San Mateo, CA
April 4 - Blake's, Berkeley, CA

Trust me, go see them.

They are in the music player thing on the right-->-->-->
Eric called it something but I can't remember so it is a music thing. You will figure it out.

Oops, their name is LINKS.
Sorry SUTORICEB.

Vegetarian, Diabetic, Lactose Intolerant, Nut Allergic...HELP ME!

Help, I need somebody.
Help, not just anybody.

One of my daughters is going to be home for a very short visit. With her will be a band, 4 young men. I plan to feed them lunch before they perform locally. And maybe breakfast and snacks for the road.

So I asked her "By the way Sweetie, does anyone have any food allergies or anything I should plan for?"

She says "Yeah, about that."

So I have one who is vegetarian, one who is diabetic, one who is lactose intolerant and has nut allergies, and a daughter who loves pasta, bread, cheese and fruit. The other guy and I are just there for the ride.
OMG!

Really I am so thrilled to do this. I love company and I love my daughter 92 trillion times more. Is that our deficit right now? But I have no idea where to begin to make everyone happy and out of the hospital. It isn't like summer is here and the fruit stands are in full bloom.

So if you have any help to offer I will love you a lot. Possibly as much as a trillion.

Frank And Tony And A Birthday Party

I love family.
When I was little my Dad met Harriet, who is by far the most gracious woman I have ever known. She is truly beautiful inside and out. She is the heart and the strength of our family. And she gave me sisters.

This is Harriet the birthday girl in red and my sisters and I. I have amazing sisters, beautiful, smart, talented and loving, and I dearly cherish each of them.

My sisters and I had been planning a surprise birthday for her. It was sort of a Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, martini party theme, in black, white and red. We worked. Daddy paid.

This is my Dad. He loves to have his picture taken. He is 6' 5" tall and his name is Chico, it sort of makes you wonder if they switched babies at the hospital.

Just a little 'to do'.
This blog has been testing ground zero for some of the food. But there was much more. A cocktail party and sit down dinner for 32 people. Martinis, cosmopolitans, lemon drops and mojitos, stuffed mushrooms & linguica off this blog and also gravlax and pears with mascarpone and proscuitto for the cocktail hour and a half. Halibut, red potatoes, heirloom tomato salad and pesto bread sticks for dinner.

This is John, one of my wonderful brother in laws. He caught both the halibut and the salmon in Alaska and very generously cooked it for the party.

Lemon mousse, blog stuff again (which didn't freeze right) for dessert and champagne.
It is always fun to entertain and this turned out as perfect as we had hoped.

Lots of lovely young ladies, there are more, our family is filled with women. 13 girls, 3 boys in the niece and nephew department alone. Drop me a note if you have a son who is a doctor, we have a lot of girls to marry off one day.
Happy Birthday Harriet!