On December 28, a houseful of company arrived: Sorority sisters Connie and Joy, Connie’s dad, Frosty, Connie’s new boyfriend, John came in one car from Fresno. Casey, my 29 year-old Godson, arrived first from Carlsbad. He and I had a chance to visit for over an hour before the crowds arrived.

The first night, we had a lovely formal dinner. We began with a hot crab dip appetizer while waiting for Brad to arrive from Pasadena. Dinner was pesto lasagna (from the freezer), pear/gorgonzola/cranberry/pecan salad with pear-gorgonzola vinegarette, and pork loin with fig reduction sauce. For dessert, we had chocolate ganache cake.

On Friday, we had a big brunch:cranberry-orange bread with Grand Marnier Glaze, cherry-almond bread with Amaretto glaze, fruit salad, and Harry’s Eggs (requested by Joy)!

Friday night we began with hot artichoke dip appetizer, pumpkin ravioli (from the freezer), Italian sausage, and Cheddar-Baked Zucchini. For dessert we had a Slow Travel Favorite: Tina’s Cajun Bread Pudding with vanilla ice cream and Rum Sauce:

Bartenders Casey and Brad also made up a few batches of Chocolate-Peppermint Martinis:

We played a new game called “Would You Rather?” It gives forced-choice questions like, “Would you rather live in a country governed by supermodels or professional football players?” When it is your turn, you choose a question, write down your answer, then the rest of the group has 90 seconds to reach a unanamous choice, and you get a point if you match their answer.

When the “food coma” hit, we decided to postpone the present opening until the next morning.