Monday, May 9th, - Fois gras anyone?

This was quite funny...at our office, a goose had taken one of the prime parking spots. Those Canadians really know how to park.

Tuesday, April 26, - Springtime in CT...fleeting and beautiful.

Daffodils and Grape Hyacynths line our walk...

the colors of spring.

Saturday, April 16 - Went to see David Coperfield at Foxwoods

Arrived around 2:00pm. As soon as we got to our suite, we had a copious lunch, prepared by our butlers. Here Cath, Nick, Jordan and Elie enjoy the spoils.

They always make us the most extraordinary meals for us.

Here we are... Cath and I... ready for the show. It was great. We participated in one of the illusions. Scary!

After the show, we went back to the suite...Lo and behold The butlers had set out a beautiful evening snack for us. I think we'll be gaining some weight this weekend.

This delightful tower was made of sliced vegtables layered with fois gras in a balsamic reduction sauce.

...there were also Lamb chops and tempura rolls.

Here we are enjoying our late night snack with Halim and June.

This chocolate assortment was left by the bed. Jordan had taken a little nibble from the DC chocolate sheet.

Later, we went down to the nightclub. As soon as we got to our VIP table (yes, we had a VIP table which made everyone jealous) we ordered our Margaritas.

There were boys dancing on a stage...

...they were quite athletic.

Then there were the girls...

Lingerie was their costume. Impressive. A great weekend was had by all

Saturday, April 9, & Sunday, April 10, - A beautiful weekend. We ate outdoors and I ran a 5K

Saturday was beautiful. We had our lunch on the porch for the first time this year...Nick poured a wonderful Chassagne Montrachet.

A perfect lunch for the day before the race: grilled lobster, roasted fingerling potatoes and advocado salad.

Just one glass of wine for me...I have to run tomorrow.

The day of the race. Here I am signing in with our friend Elie.

The weather was perfect and I had my ipod with all my good tunes...so it was a great 5K.

Here I am with Dad after the race. He and Colleen came up to watch me run. That was so cool.

After the race Nick headed right for the grill.

Nick marinated and grilled a skirt steak and cooked up some fries, I made a salad and steamed some mussels and clams...

...and we had this lovely Chateauneuf to go with it...the wine and the weekend: perfect!

Saturday, March 12 - Wine Tasting Dinner at Deer Hill

We'd perfected the recipes and paired them with wines. So we had a few people over for a dinner and blind tasting. The theme: France vs. California. May the best wines win.

Nick was advocating French wines, I swear by Califorias. We began arguing before our guests arrived.

Nick lost that round so he pouts and makes some final adjustments to the table.

These are my antique French budvase placecard holders. I relish every opportunity I have to use them.

The champagne is on ice as we await the arrival of our wine taster friends.

Adil prepared these elegant hors d'ouvres to go with the Champagne. He studied culinary in France and his gastronomic savoir-faire is quite remarkable.

Here are the glasses. Let the tasting begin.

Our first course was crab timbales serve with two different whites. A Joel Gott Savignon Blanc and a Louis Latour Chablis. All of us felt that the Savignon Blanc stood up to and complimented the multiple layers of flavor in this complexed dish. One point for California.

The red wines a 2003 California Red Zinfandel again by Joel Gott and a 1998 E. Guigal Chateauneuf du Pape were then served, expertly, by Katia.

Adil prepared lovely dinner plates. Filet Mignon in Blackberry Port Wine Reduction Sauce served with herb roasted potatoes and carrots.

Everyone tasted and tasted...and everyone agreed that the Chateauneuf was by far the better choice for this rich and refined dish. My California was a by far simpler wine ...but all things considered a very good one...anyway, it's my farvorite wine. So deal with it Nick.

These red wines were enjoyed by everyone.

Our cheese course was from Artisanal, arguably the best purveyor of extraordinary cheeses in the US. Their on-line shop is excellent.

We had after dinner drinks...many of them...in the parlor

The next day, there were my antique french place card holders with their pretty purple and gold tulips

...and lots of other tulips all around the house.

Saturday, February 26 - Future Food Network Stars at work!

We spent the entire day on the production of the first episode of our cooking show, The Tabouli Twin's Middle Eastern Adventure. As the name implies, this show will be dedicated to the cuisine and culture of the Middle East.

Due to a low production budget we have to do our own hair and make-up...what a drag.

Our mezze table glows in the afternoon sun.

Cat adds one final touch to the tablescape.

Amine prepares to film the final sequence.

After the filming...we enjoyed the fruits of our labors with cast and crew.

Adil, Amine, Mehdi and Sana

Forget about the pita chips this is best way to eat houmous! Guess we drank too much Arak with that dinner.

It was the last weekend in February...it was great, actuallly.

Started this winter weekend early...spent Friday afternoon in Manhattan. That was sublime and wonderful. Saturday we spent the entire day filming our cooking show. Hard work ...but fun. Now we have to edit and edit and edit... and then hope we have enough film left for the show. Sunday... well, it was sunny and beautiful. Will post pictures later this week.

Valentine's weekend - Delicious!

What is this supposed to be? Hint: It's entirely made from chocolate.

June and Halim joined us for a weekend of great food...and wine.