Ok, so I realize that my mom's birthday is in March, and it is now June, but sometimes it just takes a little while for my family to get its shit together. In any case, we got together this weekend for Mom's birthday dinner. My sister Jackie and her husband came down from Boston (had a "fun" trip on AirTran - odd, Chrissy and I have had nothing but good experiences with them), and we picked them up from BWI on Saturday. We got to show them the new place (I think they liked it). My other sister Gail came up with her family from southern MD and met us at Mom's. My aunt Yoko (Mom's sister) flew up from Alabama on Saturday, and her daughter Sandra picked her up. That part was a surprise. We had originally planned on making the whole thing a surprise, but it became too complicated to organize without coming out and asking Mom direct questions, so we just told her what we were doing. In the course of planning, I realized that no one had mentioned Yoko & Sandy (& Sandy's b/f Paul) being there, so we decided to keep that part a secret.
We went to an Annapolis restaurant called Viet-Thai Paradise. It was incredible! The manager, Lyon (pronounced "Leon"), was so helpful getting everything set up with us and planning the menu. Yoko & Sandy showed up about 15 minutes early and brought balloons for Mom's chair. We started with a champagne toast of Chateau Ste Michelle. For the appetizer, they brought out four Combination appetizer trays consisting of Chicken Satay, Lemongrass Beef Skewers, Spring Rolls, Coconut Shrimp and Garden Salad. For entrees, we had Pad Thai (Mom's favorite dish there), Special Fried Rice (with shrimp, pork & crabmeat), Chicken Curry and Bangkok Ka Prow (sautéed pork & veggies). There were a few 33's (a Vietnamese beer), some Toasted Head Viognier and, of course, a few rounds of sake. Kampai! (A Japanese toast - pronounced 'cahm-pie'). Most everyone had dessert there, but a few of us went to Maggie Moo's after! I had a hot fudge sundae (better batter ice cream with Reese's Cups and Kit Kats mixed in) in a waffle bowl. Uuummmmmy!!
If you think life couldn't get any better, think again. On Sunday, we went to Gail & John's place down in St. Mary's. We hung out & chatted. Mom made us gyoza (Japanese pork dumplings). We went out on the water on their little (12' or so) power boat. We had some Grolsch and some Ferrari Carano Merlot. My bro-in-law John, who is a chef, made some ribeye steaks and shrimp stuffed with crab imperial. We finished off the day with cigars from the new shop (Titan Cigar) that opened up across the street from the apartment. Add to all that a loving family and Gail's two adorable puppies (Lady & Penny), and you got a hell of a weekend!
We went to an Annapolis restaurant called Viet-Thai Paradise. It was incredible! The manager, Lyon (pronounced "Leon"), was so helpful getting everything set up with us and planning the menu. Yoko & Sandy showed up about 15 minutes early and brought balloons for Mom's chair. We started with a champagne toast of Chateau Ste Michelle. For the appetizer, they brought out four Combination appetizer trays consisting of Chicken Satay, Lemongrass Beef Skewers, Spring Rolls, Coconut Shrimp and Garden Salad. For entrees, we had Pad Thai (Mom's favorite dish there), Special Fried Rice (with shrimp, pork & crabmeat), Chicken Curry and Bangkok Ka Prow (sautéed pork & veggies). There were a few 33's (a Vietnamese beer), some Toasted Head Viognier and, of course, a few rounds of sake. Kampai! (A Japanese toast - pronounced 'cahm-pie'). Most everyone had dessert there, but a few of us went to Maggie Moo's after! I had a hot fudge sundae (better batter ice cream with Reese's Cups and Kit Kats mixed in) in a waffle bowl. Uuummmmmy!!
If you think life couldn't get any better, think again. On Sunday, we went to Gail & John's place down in St. Mary's. We hung out & chatted. Mom made us gyoza (Japanese pork dumplings). We went out on the water on their little (12' or so) power boat. We had some Grolsch and some Ferrari Carano Merlot. My bro-in-law John, who is a chef, made some ribeye steaks and shrimp stuffed with crab imperial. We finished off the day with cigars from the new shop (Titan Cigar) that opened up across the street from the apartment. Add to all that a loving family and Gail's two adorable puppies (Lady & Penny), and you got a hell of a weekend!
3 comments:
I second your accolades for our awesome weekend. We were so happy to share so much good food and so many laughs with you and Chrissy. We can't wait to check out your place, too!
Fantastic time. We love your new place! What a great kitchen and pantry. And your half bath kicks ours - oh wait, that's right, we don't have one...! So much good food, laughs...but beer left over makes me think we're losing our touch.
What an excellent weekend! And who knew that fire-flies are actually real?
Post a Comment