Merry Christmas 1962 Refreshments

Part of the fun for this year's party was planning for the food.  I could finally discuss options with Mom since she was one year into her married life in 1962.  There were so many great ideas but I immediately decided no hot food since I didn't want to keep refilling the plates through the night.  Mom pulled out recipes from her treasure trove and I shopped a lot.  But the beauty of the layout is pure Meredith.  She has so much talent which is evident in how she pulled the table together.

I think this is my favorite platter - an assortment of sweets from Trader Joe's.  I admit it isn't pure 1962 but let's pretend Trader Joe's Candy Cane Joe Joe's existed then.

Runner up - a platter of pickles/tomatoes and Vienna sausages/pickles.

The crudites platter.

Rice krispy treats with maraschino cherries.

Onion Dip with crackers and tomatoes.

The Deviled Eggs, more sausages and cream cheesed celery.

More views.  The secret was lots of tomatoes, maraschino cherries and paprika on the plates.

The punch was pure Mom.  I froze orange, lemon and lime slices and maraschino cherries in a bundt pan and used that ice in the punch bowl. 

I ordered these napkins.

And of course every house in 1962 had a tree.

Christmas at La Grenouille

I have two gorgeous friends who love to eat at beautiful and hopefully delicious restaurants.  One of them is particularly wonderful at making reservations.  We started off our 1962 weekend in a restaurant that opened on December 19, 1962.  (You'll see more of 1962 later this weekend).  I believe this adventure started due to a fascination with Mad Men.

The food was delicious but we all agreed that the souffle was incomparable.  I had the caramel and the others had chocolate.  It was a perfect souffle.

Just a little posing.

The Red Fortress

Alhambra in Granada, Spain

Far too much history and way too many gorgeous buildings, sites, tiles to write about.  I'll just post some pictures.

 I do love how autumn was still in full force during our visit.

Martin Berasategui Restaurant

I knew that I had to eat somewhere special during my time in San Sebastian since it has three of the top 50 restaurants in the world according to the S. Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants 2011.

I arrived at 1 pm to an empty restaurant and sat at a table with this view.  The restaurant soon filled up but I enjoyed watching it transition to a full dining room.

The waiter pointed out that I could see the farm where the egg I was eating came from.

I opted for the 12 course tasting menu.  Although I ate alone, I was fully occupied by the food, the staff, the view and my thoughts.  I did not realize until far into the meal that photos are encouraged.

The Best of Martin Berasategui's Cuisine Tasting Menu

Mille-Feuille of Smoked Eel, Foie-Gras, Spring Onions and the Green Apple
Savage Salmon and Seaweed with Liquid Cucumber and Spring Onion with Red Fruits and Radish
Squid Soup, Creamy Squid Ink Ravioli Served with Squid Crouton
Oyster with Cucumber, Sour Fruit, Kafir and Coconut
Little Pearls of Raw Fennel, Risotto and Emulsion
Corrotxategi Egg Resting on a Liquid Salad of Red Tubers and Dewlap Carpaccio
Warm Vegetable Hearts Salad with Seafood, Cream of Lettuce and Iodized Juice

Curdled of Seaweeds with a Translucent Consomme' of Carabineer
Roast Red Mullet with Crystals of Edible Scales, Tail and Marine Salad with Sesame and Nuts
Grilled Sirloin "Luismi" over a bed of Swiss Chard Chlorophyll and Cheese Bonbon

Cold Essence of Basil with Lime Sherbet, Juniper Ice Shavings and Raw Almond

Chocolate and Acacia Honey with Unsweetened Irish Coffee

The meal was finished with this gorgeous sculpture with truffles, gelato and a drink.

I asked my server if the Chef was in the kitchen and was told no.  Later I was surprised with the Chef standing behind me.  Neither of us spoke each others language but I smiled a lot.  The server took this picture and it's been mentioned that he looks like a giant next to me.

The server also took me on a tour of the kitchen which was incredible.  I was told there were 50 people in the kitchen preparing food for 30 people in the restaurant. The food was delicious and looked like art.  The restaurant was calm and perfect.  The experience was such an introduction to high end Basque cuisine.

Happiness is Serra

 I arrived in San Sebastian, dropped my luggage off at the hotel, and hailed a taxi straight for the bus station to go to Bilbao.  I have been wanting to travel to Guggenheim Bilbao since it opened and I read about it in Vanity Fair.  I arrived, walked through Bilbao to the museum and thought the building exceeded my expectations.

I was even more pleased to see The Matter of Time by Serra which is a part of the museum's permanent collection.  I took some photos before I was stopped by the museum's staff.  And even better, the exhibit on display was Brancusi - Serra.  I fell for Serra when I saw his exhibit at the MOMA in August 2007 with a friend.  I am grateful for any opportunity to see his work including the surprise when I saw one of his sculptures at the Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle.

I also loved seeing Brancusi's work including his birds.  So beautiful.