June, Carriage House and Family at 90

     In the beginning, June, in seven days, and ninety years grew her clan, and as we all congregated into the "World according to June", as we mingled about, caused frenetic chatter to abound, shared memories and outlooks, concepts and just sauntered about the room, enjoying the nuances of the austere interior decorations and outside patio area. The "Usual Suspects" included a multi-generational cauldron of personalities starting of course with June herself, working into Bob and April, Sue and Richard and Holly, along with a string of finely tuned

 musical instruments of siblings including, and don't chastise me for any misspellings or aberrations in intent here, Copa, Tyler,Sonya, Kaitlin, Trevor, Nicole and Andrea.  Along with this beautiful and contagious family, Joyce and I gratefully and humbled whisked ourselves through the chorus of their individual lives and patterns of thought that had brought them to these moments of Joy celebrating June's 90 years, as she opened up her gracious offerings and blew the one candle on her cake out.  We all loved, danced  and sang to the chorus and syncopated life and times of June's Life.

     Here at the Carriage House, which is a Banquet Room at the Dry Creek Kitchen, we were entertained culinarily first by some passed appetizers including, but not limited to, Crab Cakes with a dipping sauce, Risotto Balls with a dipping sauce, Grilled Chicken on a Stick with a dipping sauce, and a concoction of flavor profiles engulfed inside of a Belgian Endive leaf.
I didn't flash on the visuals entwined representations of the appetizers, so you just have to imagine all the textures and nuances of both the food and the dipping sauces.  So sorry, Uncle Albert .

     As we progressed into the meal, Bob had brought a collection of wines, from the "Jazz Cellars" collection, including both whites and reds, so we could pair them with first and second courses. For the Whites, he brought some Voignier, and a blend of two similar varietals to Voigneir, called Rhapsody, which we partook during our escapades with the first courses of Sweet White Corn Soup, Wild Mushroom Risotto, and the Sonoma County Greens salad.
     As we hopped on down the Bunny Trail to the main courses, we were treated to first, a Pinot Noir, then a Syrah and lastly dabbled into some Zinfandel, which were progressively indulged with the Fava Bean Salmon Mi Cuit, which was fascinating for various reasons but we all were intrigued by the biscuit that was made with the fava beans, the Spring Chicken "Picnic Style", the Honey Brined Pork Chop and lasted christened with the Dry Aged New York and Braised Short Rib entree.  All of us, as we usually do, got the opportunity to indulge in all the flavor profiles going on in each of the dishes, that is, if we wanted to, and for further explanations of what the particulars were of each dish, feel free to click on the menu and layout picture above.
        One other thing before I return to yesteryear, is there were a few speeches given, one by Joyce, then a poem that April had written and read for all of us, and then for a few stolen moments, June espoused on her love for her family, and how great it was to be there with everyone and how delightful all of this was and had become moment by moment as the  evening progressed.  There had been lots of frivolity, indulgence in one another, and many lusty and bawdy proclamations added to the character of the room, as we slowly filtered our way toward the vast opening to the Banquet Room to return to our personal spaces and humble abodes.
         Again, as Steven finds himself so much further in, after such gorgeous moments of exaltation's, than he will ever be out, before he travels that long, long way to go before he sleeps, let it be known that after the Smith family gathering, memories of himself not being the only "DREAMER" have been put to rest.