Sunday 3 February
Our friend Jodi Magness flew in to
give an AIA lecture, and we picked her up and brought her to a dinner in her
honor at the Santens' beautiful new house overlooking the Ohio river. Ann had put together a gorgeous spread, and
the dinner wasn't bad either. (We do not
discriminate against jokes on the grounds that they are obvious. Obviously.)
Harry is the master of wine, so he
tended to each one of the fourteen guests' desires in the way of drink, while
Ann and Sarah (who was helping) put out appetizers: enormous platters of smoked
salmon with sour cream and capers, and Boursin, both with crispy toasts. The sour cream is such a good pair with
smoked salmon, since the usual cream cheese doesn't spread as easily, and often
breaks the toast.
When dinner was announced we all
changed places, so everyone could talk to someone different. The entire group sat around low tables laid
end to end before the fireplace, while the hosts carried us trays of individual
servings, many of them in handmade bowls or plates or cups.
We started with a beautiful
tureenful of pumpkin soup with croutons; then went on to savory beef stew with
onions, mopped up with baguettes.
Dessert was chocolate pots de crème
in their special white porcelain cups, and good strong decaf coffee in Harry's
handmade demitasses.
It was a perfect dinner, and a
chance to meet with a fascinating group of people. So thanks, Ann and Harry!
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