So, I'm back. The Watchful Wino, that is. We're still waiting on the Refined Redneck, but as I mentioned earlier, you can't rush greatness. I'm sure we'll see great stuff from him. RR - if I could suggest something, you might write about your relatively recent deer hunt. There were some surplus deer that you put to sleep, permanently, if I'm not mistaken. I'm more than sure that the readership would love to hear all about it. On a personal note, I ate and successfully digested said deer, and it was tasty...

I promised to let you all know about my recent dinner party (Saturday, 04 February, 2012). So here it is.

Some bros of mine from my Active Duty Army days, as well as their wonderful (seriously) spouses, decided to get together for dinner. The distinction here is that it was a dinner that I largely was to prepare. Whoaahh... such responsibility! Either the famishedness/disgust of some of my closest friends, or a resounding success followed by accolades and laurels upon which I can rest (but I won't). Well, I like accolades, at least for my WW prepared meals, so I decided the potential ROI of the risk outweighed the downside and dove right in.

Boeuf Bourgignon was the recipe. Julia Child's Boeuf Bourgignon, with my own twist (and Julie Powell, no, I'm not copying you...to do so would require cooking every recipe within that book within 365 days...and I'm only into meat...not pastries or aspics...so your legacy is safe...as if a Hollywood feature was not already enough to secure that like Fort Knox...) What is the twist? 

For me to know and you to find out. I'll tell you what. Write me or post a very obsequious comment, and I'll get back to you. Don't think my twist made much of a difference? Think again. It sent the results of the recipe from the above average to the interstellar. Seriously, no BS, it was like having an out-of-body-experience to savor that. I'm sure my compadres will agree. Chime in with comments if you agree or disagree. And no court jesters please; I know who my compadres are and their Google IDs. So take it from a fellow smarta**, keep it to yourself if it is not constructive, otherwise, I promise you, it will be very actively ignored...

Anyway, So There I Was, at my bro's palace. We polished off the Boeuf Bourgignon, and that turned out to be only an amuse bouche. We were all still famished. What to do?

I'll tell you what. A Tarte Tatin is what. Better yet...a Tarte Tatin accompanied by a dessert wine from a few galaxies over...or...uh...maybe one from South Africa. They do know how to make a good dessert wine there... Anyway, the little guy himself, Napoleon, used to order what we had by the case. Yeah. Napoleon. I'm not joking. I'd tell you what it was, but I don't want the market price to spike too dramatically, so do a little research, and you'll figure it out. Me? I copped out and asked my resident wine expert what I should have. Who is said expert? Well, I wouldn't dare divulge anyone's identity without their permission. You know who you are, so if you want to get plugged on the superhighway, let me know, and it's done.

So after the delicious Tarte Tatin, that RR himself brought over (I told you he was refined, after all...), we decided that not enough alcohol had been consumed, by a stretch. Again, what to do? Well, it just so happened that I had a liter of Grand Marnier handy. It's the type of thing I usually carry in my back pocket... :-)

A few of us had it anyway, and the evening progressed from there. Like it had rocket propulsion...Too bad it was not nuclear propulsion, because the closing hour rolled around, and we had to call it a night. So until next time, when the main course will be Navarin Printanier. 

RR - why don't you tell us about your recent deer hunt, your success in bagging said deer, as well as the dishes in which said deer ended up? I'm sure the readership would love to hear about it.

For now,

Loose!