It’s a miracle! Demian and I finally moved into our new house in Redwood City, and life is good! Things are still a bit messy around here, but we’re slowly getting around to putting everything away. The more and more I look at the house, the more I love it. It seems just so perfect for us, and so comfortable.
On Friday, the official move-in day, Demian and I celebrated at The Village Pub, and had the best meal we’ve ever had there – and we’ve been to The Village Pub a lot! It’s been quite awhile since I’ve eaten anything that really wowed me, so this was really the perfect way to “reward” ourselves for the hard work we’ve been putting into moving. Demian started out with a subtly sweet, incredibly smooth Sweet Corn and Sorrel Soup while I opted for the incredibly innovative and deliciously well balanced Shaved Foie Gras Torchon / Hazelnut Vinaigrette / Poached Plum Salad. I’ve eaten my fair share of foie gras, and have never seen it this way – shaved into smooth, rich, little curls (must have been frozen first to get that effect), atop mixed greens for a little brightness, dressed in hazelnut vinagrette and sprinkled with some hazelnuts for some nuttiness and crunch, with a foundation of a few soft, tart-but-sweet poached plums. Really an achievement in flavor and texture combinations, and something very different. Yum! Went really well with my German Riesling.
For our entree, Demian ordered the duck special (with a fig reduction), and I ordered the Grilled Rack of Pork with Apple and Fennel Salad and Polenta. Perfectly cooked – firm but juicy – pork that gave way under the knife, sweet roasted apples with crisp, fresh fennel bulbs and leaves, and creamy, rich, sweet polenta. Mmmmm. Impressive!
We capped off the evening with dessert – Demian with some pretty authentic beignets (Cafe du Mond style, not glorified donut holes) with this delicious creme caramel (smooth and sweet, without being too sweet), and me with a creamy, but light and bright chilled passion fruit souffle and roasted pineapple – refreshing and satisfying.
Yesterday, Demian and I went up to the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma to take a Highway Survival Course from the Jim Russell Racing School – I had bought the classes for him for his birthday, but it turned out it was probably better for me than for him, since he’s already a pretty skilled driver. They put us through three types of courses. The first was a drifting simulation, where they fix a car so that it feels like it’s drifting over black ice, or an oil spill - they teach you how to counteract the spin and how to use the gas and brake so that you can get to your destination safely. The next course was a high speed stop and turn, teaching you how to brake when you don’t have anti-lock brakes, so that you don’t lock up the wheel and plow through a bunch of cones, like I did…heh. The last course was my favorite – sudden lane changes to avoid obstacles. We did these at increasing speeds, with no braking, so it was really a challenge to sudden swerve, but then correct your course so that you didn’t just fly off into the ethos. It was also a challenge not to apply the brakes too early, otherwise your tail will spin out on you. The last event of the day was a timed obstacle course – SO FUN! Of course, I got second to last place (the honor of last place going to the only other girl in the class), but it was still so fun to race around those cones lol. Mostly, each of these three courses teaches you how not to panic, which I think was key, because I feel like my first reaction to everything was to apply the brakes, even if that isn’t the right thing to do.
Anyway, today is grocery day, and hopefully putting-away-the-rest-of-our-crap day, so I best get started. Hopefully I’ll be able to start blogging about wedding things soon!
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