*****My 85th–A Celebration*****
Just made it to
another milestone, the big 85. My three living brothers will say that
is just a minor hurdle. The eldest living among us siblings is Peping,
who is 97! He spots me 12 years. Next on the rung to him is Pipo ,who
has a 10-year lead over me. At least Marquitos is within breathing
distance at 87. All I can try to do is keep up with these magnificent
guys. Wish they would reveal to me their secret for long life.
But the here and
now is what we should be happy about; and to celebrate the occasion,
daughter Grace and son-in-law Howard, have offered to host our
celebration at home with their traditional grand feast. This, despite
the fact that their reliable assistants, Damien and Natasha, were on
holidays. The brave couple had to carry the brunt of chef, kitchen-hand
and waiter, all by their lonesome. How they managed it all was quite an
amazing feat.
What a superb feast! And with such wonderful company! Howard and Grace
printed out the menu some days before and the guests made their choice
on line. Then the gourmet dishes just kept coming in.
It was an awesome repast all thanks to Howard's and Grace's great hard work and kitchen magic.
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| The gathering
of the usual suspects. Clockwise starting at 12 o'clock with yours
truly, —Grace ready to pour the wine, Lene Aldeguer, Betchay Reyes, Luis
Reyes, Ritsuko Crowley, Irene, Will Sun, Evol Carrington, Cal Nelson
and Uko Legarda Nelson. |
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| Irene's table
setting. Would you believe the pencil and brush decor were from a
table-setting for my 60th in 1992 at the gracious home of Eddie and
Merle Pineda in Dasmariñas, Makati? |
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| A lot of hard
work from the team of Howard and Grace: beginning with the couple
lugging half their kitchen all the way from Woranora Heights to our home
in Davidson. Here's how the chef's working space looked. |
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| Finger lime. Frankly never saw these before.They were delicious. |
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| anchovies for the sauce |
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| Behind the scene work by the chef-couple |
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| Home made pumpkin ravioli |
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With much of the chaotic, messy work over, Chef Howard can now exercise his gourmet magic in his formal working gear.
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| The Awesome Menu |
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Let's see now, do I remember what I had ordered?
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| Seared scallops in an anchovy butter sauce |
|
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| Garlic buttered prawns |
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| Lene, Betchay, Luis, Ritsuko and Irene |
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| Now for the main course... |
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| Quite a few favored rhe duck, now ready for roasting. |
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| Roasting and smoking the duck outdoors so the smoke will not get inside the house |
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| Baked Atlantic salmon |
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| Prawns in a zesty ginger and lime tomato sauce on ribboned zucchini |
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| Tea-smoked duck breast with roasted beetroot in a balsamic syrup and roasted vegetables |
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| Milopita (Greek apple cake) with brandy yoghurt |
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| Trio of homemade ice cream |
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| Grand Dessert |
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| My experiments with low-firing ceramic paint on tile were my parting gifts to the guests |
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Guest drew lots for the wrapped individual souvenir art-work, so I don't know who got which.
ALL THANKS AGAIN TO GRACE AND HOWARD FOR A FABULOUS FEAST. WE ALL LOVED IT. |
*****My 85th–A Celebration*****
*****My 85th–A Celebration*****Just made it to another milestone, the big 85. My three living brothers will say that is just a minor hurdle. The eldest living among us siblings is Peping, who is 97! He spots me 12 years. Next on the rung to him is Pipo ,who has a 10-year lead over me. At least Marquitos is within breathing distance at 87. All I can try to do is keep up with these magnificent guys. Wish they would reveal to me their secret for long life.But the here and now is what we should be happy about; and to celebrate the occasion, daughter Grace and son-in-law Howard, have offered to host our celebration at home with their traditional grand feast. This, despite the fact that their reliable assistants, Damien and Natasha, were on holidays. The brave couple had to carry the brunt of chef, kitchen-hand and waiter, all by their lonesome. How they managed it all was quite an amazing feat.
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