Anyone Game? It’s my Sep 2013 Blog! I'm home; with a TR link in #1189, 10/14

[PrincessInOz]

Those are beautiful pictures!!!

Now, I have read the reunion posts and comments. I came to my high school in my sophomore year, all girls school, most cliques were formed in the elementary schools that fed into the small private school. I go back to reunions when I can, because I've found the pettiness of high school days are gone, and the groups are friendlier now.

Thanks Bobbi!


I think some of my high school classmates were nicer. But then it could have been me.....being nicer.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Another Major Birthday Bash



This week, another one of my family members celebrated a major birthday milestone. It was momentous enough for us to head to a private function room at a restaurant in Melbourne. And entirely adults only event; no kids!


The room was just perfect for the occasion.

The open fireplace in one corner of the room would also double up as a place for the chef to complete finishing touches to the dishes.

And the other corner was filled with that rustic ambience, heralding the style of food to come.

The walls were painted and had 3 folk-art style frescos.

Sadly, I think you can see that the lighting in the room was not going to help my cause much. Why cant restaurants just realize that food is also meant to be photographed; and not just eaten? So...my apologies for the darkness of the food porn.

Our style of food?

We started with antipasto; all with a pesky vegetarian bent and packed full of flavor and the promise of Southern Italy.

Grilled Octopus. Wonderfully tender and served in drippings of olive oil.

The olive oil went perfectly with the focaccia. This was about the only thing that was not vegetarian friendly! It was packed with bacon lard&.and Oh. So. Yummy.

Im pretty sure this was a monkfish dish. The fish had been panfried and served with an onion pickle dressing. The dressing was perfectly balanced between sweet, salt and citrus acid tang!

Mozzarella Aranchini on a rocket puree. I wasnt overly impressed with this one.

Scallops on cauliflower puree. Absolutely delightful and soft and fluffy.

The muscles had been cooked under a grill and then finished with a spoon of ciambotta. The ciambotta was the unsung star of this dish. It tasted of Southern Italy!

Zucchini with a sweet dressing. I liked it but wouldnt rush to order this again.

Day-old Ricotta cheese, home-made. This ricotta had the texture of tofu and tasted like buttermilk. It was perfect on a hunk of bread.

I didnt even get to taste this. I guess it was lasagna!

After the antipasto, we all got a plate of tortellini. Silky smooth pasta stuffed with smoked eggplant and served with butter dressing. I loved this dish, although some of the other party celebrants did not enjoy the smoked eggplant taste.

We then started on the entrée dishes, served family style. This is where the kitchen lost points with me.

The first protein was a goat stew. Sadly for me, I got a piece of meat that turned out to be goat kidney. I stopped eating at that point and when I mentioned it to our waiter, he was absolutely horrified. Judging from his reaction, I was right to think that goat kidney is not something that anyone should be eating in this dish. But I will say that the goat was tender and the stew was full of flavor. Its just that goat is not something that I eat on a regular basis by choice.

The second protein was roast pork. Amazing flavor, the meat fell off the bone (and yes, they left the bones in the dish), the skin was crackling but just barely there for me. I am Asian and particularly harsh on cracking that does not melt-in-your-mouth and this cracking did not meet that criterion.

However, it must have been my night for sweetmeats! The piece of pork that I ended up with came with value add liver. That was just about it for me.


Our entree came with roast potato; which I didnt even get a chance to snap....the other diners just completely dived into that!

And...a salad with the most divine vinaigrette.

DHs protein meal was the pick of the proteins for the night. This sesame encrusted snapper was just beautiful!

Sadly for me (and you), the kitchen was not just serving slow food; it was serving food slow. By this stage, it was already past 11 pm and DH was particularly anxious to head home. My MiL was babysitting DS and DH didnt want her to have a very late night. I guess I would have liked to have given the kitchen the opportunity to redeem themselves from the sweetmeats I had been served with the sweet desserts I look forward with meals like this.

But not tonight.

I knew that it would take the waiters at least 20 minutes to clear up the table and then another 10 minutes to serve dessert. And with DH chaffing to go, I knew that my meal had come to an end.


So, we said our goodbyes, wished the family member a happy birthday and departed the restaurant.

And when we got home, I knew we made the right decision. MiL was looking rather tired and was pleased to see us.


Dessert can wait for another meal!

 

[ACDSNY]

Very cute looking place. It's too bad you were getting the prize meats and no dessert.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Very cute looking place. It's too bad you were getting the prize meats and no dessert.

The antipasto and the pasta was wonderful. And aside from the value-add and the crackling, the pork meat was lovely.

I think I could have forgiven the prize meats if I didn't end up with no desserts.

 

[SadieDog]

The cakes were amazing. I can't imagine the work that goes into making those quilts.

I'm glad you enjoyed your reunion. Good you forced yourself to attend.

 

[SadieDog]

The morning glory and sunset pics are beautiful.

I would have enjoyed SOME of the birthday meal. The only protien I eat is poultry/fish/seafood. I certainly would have stayed away from goat stew. I've never had octopus. I have a feeling the texture might be different, but I could be wrong. The snapper looked delicious.

 

[PrincessInOz]

The cakes were amazing. I can't imagine the work that goes into making those quilts.

I'm glad you enjoyed your reunion. Good you forced yourself to attend.

The morning glory and sunset pics are beautiful.

I would have enjoyed SOME of the birthday meal. The only protien I eat is poultry/fish/seafood. I certainly would have stayed away from goat stew. I've never had octopus. I have a feeling the texture might be different, but I could be wrong. The snapper looked delicious.

Thanks SD.

The octopus, when cooked right, can have the texture of a firm fish. If done incorrectly, it'll be like old leather!

 

[franandaj]

Interesting looking meal. I probably would have wanted to bail too. Unless I expect dinner to go to midnight, I prefer to be finished by 10PM.

Some of the selections would have been pushing my comfort level, but I probably would have eaten them. I can't believe they blithely served organ meats. If nothing else lots of places charge extra for those!

 

[dgbg100106]

The meal looked very beautiful, sorry that you ended up with the things that were not to your liking, but it was a celebration and you go to do that!

 

[SadieDog]

Thanks SD.

The octopus, when cooked right, can have the texture of a firm fish. If done incorrectly, it'll be like old leather!

Ewwww

 

[PrincessInOz]

Interesting looking meal. I probably would have wanted to bail too. Unless I expect dinner to go to midnight, I prefer to be finished by 10PM.

Some of the selections would have been pushing my comfort level, but I probably would have eaten them. I can't believe they blithely served organ meats. If nothing else lots of places charge extra for those!

Would you believe that they finished up at 1 AM and stayed to 2 AM?

The meal looked very beautiful, sorry that you ended up with the things that were not to your liking, but it was a celebration and you go to do that!

Glad to see you posting. Hope you're okay after Sandy.

Ewwww

 

[PrincessInOz]

Trunk or Treat



Happy Halloween everyone!


Halloween is not an event that has been traditionally celebrated in Australia but recently, it has gained in popularity and just seems to get bigger and bigger with the passing years. Naturally, free candy has EVERYTHING to do with it.


Despite that, there is one group that does Halloween in a big way in Melbourne….the American ex-pat community. They hold a Halloween Extravaganza every year as a fund raiser for the Royal Children’s Hospital. I discovered this event in the Melbourne social calendar last year and we all had such a great time that when I suggested it to my boys, the answer was an emphatic yes!


Here are some scenes from the event. The organizers hire out a cricket ground (our equivalent of the baseball ground) and they deck it out appropriately.

It really is a Trunk or Treat event. We are encouraged to decorate our trunks and to bring candy to hand out to the kids.

And it does get busy!

What do the trunks look like?

I liked this one. It was simple to do….a white sheet, texta and a pair of scissors to cut with. Anyone game to put your hand in?

(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)




The details in some of the cars were just so typically Halloween-ie!

I loved this carved pumpkin. Aside from looking like Jack Skellington, the ‘owner’ put some dry ice into it and let the pumpkin smoke away.

Yes…dress up was a given. Take a look at what caught my fancy.

The Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland trio was gracious enough to let me take their picture.

As was the werewolf....

...and the Scarecrow

And even DeadMou$!

This one was my personal favourite.

The event ran from 2 – 5 pm in the afternoon and whilst there was a sausage sizzle and an ice cream van, we really didn’t eat anything. So, from the food perspective, this is all I got.

Lots of Candy!

We had a great time with Trunk or Treat.


I wish you and yours a Happy Halloween …. And Happy Hauntings everyone!

 

[PrincessInOz]

I will be hopping on a plane tomorrow and heading to California for a 10 day visit. If anyone wants to find out about the trip, my PTR/TR link is in my siggie below. I have some DisMeets planned and am really looking forward to them.


Have a great couple of weeks everyone.


Catch up with you when I return.

 

[dgbg100106]

I really like the sheet also. The unknown has always been a little scary, and then there it is smiling at you...


We are ok after Sandy, water damage, and food spoilage, from power being out, but overall very lucky..

 

[SadieDog]

What a fun event! Love the skeletons and the dry ice in the pumpkin is a great idea. The Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland family.....

Hope you have a great trip.

 

[franandaj]

That trunk or treat looks fun. We are scrooge like misers. We unscrew the porch light and hide in the back of the house for Halloween. Mostly because we don't want to deal with the cats getting out of the house on Halloween night. The other thing is that I "thought" we didn't want extra candy in the house, but Fran went to the grocery store last night and bought a 5lb bag of tootsie rolls and a huge bag of Reeces!

 

[dgbg100106]

That trunk or treat looks fun. We are scrooge like misers. We unscrew the porch light and hide in the back of the house for Halloween. Mostly because we don't want to deal with the cats getting put of the house on Halloween night. The other thing is that I "thought" we didn't want extra candy in the house, but Fran went to the grocery store last night and bought a 5lb bag of tootsie rolls and a huge bag of Reeces!

Reeces... My favorite.

 

[leshunlenese]

Hello there! I must say i have never been to or seen a trunk or treat in a very long time and not one that is near as fun or decorative as this one. I love all your pics. Enjoy your trip!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

I'm late to the game, but I am joining in! We will be there Oct 3, so we are crossing over dates! Don't have time to read now, headed to the dentist, but I will be back to catch up!