Feliz Cumpleaños Esteban
Having had a bit too much sun the day before I opted to remain under cover of this gorgeous palapa porch and keep the company of the birds. I didn’t even walk or do yoga; hard to do child’s pose on sunburned knees. Steve’s birthday dinner prep would also keep me busy for a bit of the day. If anyone has witnessed my dinner party prep you’d realize that unlike the Barefoot Contessa my house is not always spotless and I can’t throw together a five-course meal in an hour. These things take planning. Hell, that’s half the fun! And how lucky am I to have my sous chef, florist, decorator and right hand gal Mary Ellen here with me.
After lounging with coffee and blogging in the morning I started to think about lunch. We need to start using up some of the things we won’t want to transfer to Grand Solmar or that were getting a little long in the tooth. So we had some poblano peppers, a red bell, jalepenos, some queso, chorizo, extra breadcrumbs, tomatoes and basil. So I made chorizo and cheese stuffed peppers and caprese salad. Scrumptious. So the birthday boy got an excellent lunch as well as a birthday dinner.
Time to start thinking about the party. The cake was made already. I knew what the menu would be. The gardener was around and with a bit of Spanglish we got him to open the garage door so we could grab a tablecloth from the linen pile. Mary set forth into the garden with a knife to see what she could harangue into a table arrangement, which ended up beautiful bougainvillea and greens in a colorful pot. And I worked on my mise en place. We rearranged patio furniture, found some candles, cleaned up the Mexican glassware, candle holder and bar area (pretty dusty here), set the table and had time to shower and put our feet up before the guests arrived.
Mary had made spiced almonds (using her homemade Essence of Emeril), and again, using up what we had I made stuffed celery for the cocktail hour. Karl and Kimmy came around 6:45 and we had wine and hors d’oeuvres while I put dinner together. Kimmy brought a beautiful salad of fresh greens, tomatoes, blueberries, a creamy feta-like cheese, and a dressing made using oils she infused with herbs. It was lovely and tasty. I grilled chicken thighs with a spice mix that included sage, fennel, nutmeg, and cayenne. Mary made her special garlic bread with fresh garlic and basil. The pasta was made with roasted cauliflower, ajillo chili, capers, garlic, anchovies, toasted breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese and cilantro. We feasted.
We sang happy birthday to Steve with my not-sure-how-this-turned-out cake. I dusted the top with cocoa powder to pretty it up. I remembered to bring candles from home. I wasn’t aware that Karl is as much a chocoholic as my husband, and after the first bite his eyes lit up and he looked at his wife and said, “Do you think you could try to get this recipe?” He looked like a little kid. Pretty please, mom? I told Kimmy I’d be happy to share. The cake was awesome. Once refrigerated the center I was afraid would be runny turned into dense chocolate, smooth and creamy, and not overly sweet. Eggs, chocolate, sugar and butter. That’s it. And I couldn’t even get good chocolate here, so it was made with Hershey’s Special Dark. The media crema and mango on the top sealed the deal.
Karl and Kimmie are an interesting pair. She is Korean, and he reminds me of a 70ish version of the actor Peter Weller. They built a house here and got work permits years ago, but have only just now become permanent residents. They are caretakers for 10 houses in Cabo Pulmo. And they told us stories of how the locals hate the Americans that have come to live here full time. They’re fine with the tourists, obviously because they bring a nice influx of cash, but resent the gringos moving in. I guess immigration problems exist no matter where you go. It would be a hard life, living in a place where people are not happy about you. Not sure I could do it.
After our guests had taken their leave Steve opened his presents. Our clever girl wrapped a Cabo Pulmo tee shirt with manta rays on the back in a black plastic bag so it LOOKED like a manta ray. Complete with barbed tail. Too funny. I gave him a book on how to prep your boat for passage-making and living on board, and 2 flags for the boat; the American flag and the yellow quarantine flag, which it is my understanding must be flow in a foreign port until you’ve cleared customs and immigration. I’m sure he’s thinking, “Holy crap, where is she dragging me off to now.”
As I write this we have a new bird in the garden; a Scott’s Oriole. Same beautiful yellow but with a totally black head and some white on the wings. And Ramon, our resident lizard, graced us with his presence and allowed for some glamour shots to be taken as he lounged on the birdhouse yesterday.
Vamos a la playa!
