Friends and party extraordinaires, Alix and Colin, pulled off a fab Vernal Equinox paella party on the night of the perigee full moon. Great friends, red wine galore, bonfire in the back...It left all of us with visions of paella dancing in our heads for sure!
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| Whole sausage from Brookford Farm had already been cooked, leaving the perfect amount of fat to cook the oregano & garlic-marinated chicken in... |
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| Arborio rice waiting its turn. Wine and homemade stock will turn these grains into wicked little morsels of tastiness. |
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| PEI mussels in all their steaming glory... |
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| Alix partially cooked the shrimp and scallops before adding them as final touches.... |
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| A brief glance at the nearly completed extravaganza! Extra points to those of you who correctly identified the "big Kahuna" tri-pod burner that this is all sitting on top of! |
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| On went the clams and mussels and this baby was done and ready to be exploited... |
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| Sweet-faced and "wishful thinker" Bella would concur! |
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'The Spread!'
Alix also made her own marinated seitan for the more vegetarian-friendly version (foreground)! All that AND she made boca negra (just to the left of those wine bottles)- a decadent flourless chocolate torte! |
Friend Emma made a luscious lemon ricotta cake (just to the left of the chocolate torte above) that I could eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner any day of the week, and special friends from Spain and Guatemala brought flan (left of ricotta cake above) that looked heavenly. See, even on the typed page dessert makes it way first.
A perfectly dressed and colorful salad, and slices of nutty and tender roasted acorn (buttercup?), by friend Mel didn't stand a chance, nor did a beautiful Spanish cheese board garnished with blood oranges and quince paste by friends Tina and Jim.
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| Two wonderful and flavorful additions to this squash soup by friends Dan and Kiera included coconut milk and cumin. Comfort food at its finest! |
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| Tortilla de patata! |
I made a tortilla (think Italian frittata) for the occasion with eggs from Riverside Farm, purple potatoes and red onion from HPF, quark from BF, and sliced artichoke hearts, portobello mushrooms and roasted red bell pepper. Garnished with shaved black truffle and drizzled ('stained' is more like it) with birch syrup from Crooked Chimney, it, too, fit the bill
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| All in all, a perfect perigee-moon Vernal equinox paella party with many happy bellies And, yes, that would be boca negra on those lips! |
Many thanks to photographer extraordinaire, Mel!
And speaking of photographers, my mum's hubby, Dick Pollock, took this pic in Maine. Checkout
MoatPhoto.com sometime when you find yourself missing the White Mountains!
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