Hanging Out

Highlights of the holiday week:

* A Dinner Party -- Chef Judy told us about the great joy she gets from putting fresh flowers on a wedding cake that she's baked. I have similar enthusiasm for the entire "dinner party" process, from making the guest list weeks in advance to putting away the good silverware the day after the event. This one was especially fun: a deconstructed paella, with grilled chicken and shrimp so that David would have something to do. I repeated my "competency" dessert, olive oil-semolina cake and white chocolate-toasted almond semifreddo. And we had some interesting wines, from Spain and Italy.

* Lots of reading (wouldn't be vacation without it) -- I especially enjoyed Loving Frank by Nancy Horan, a fictionalized account of an important (and scandalous!) chapter in the life of Frank Lloyd Wright, and The Maytrees by Annie Dillard, a beach book in the best sense of the term. I also liked Wine and War ("The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure") by Donald Kladstrup and Petie Kladstrup. My wine classes served me well.

* Day game at the A's -- sausages! beer! Need I say more? Plus, our home boys won in extra innings. Bad day for Huston Street, though.

* Road trip to Hog Island Oyster Company -- plus a lunch stop at the new Nick's Cove for lunch. Our server told us that they were still understaffed, which was evident during our meal, but the place has potential. (Two guys sat down at the table next to us, looking around at the hunting-and-fishing-lodge decor. "And I thought my restaurant was hard to clean," one of them said.)

* Four dozen oysters -- half extra small Hog Island, half kumamoto. I shucked half of them the evening we procured them, and we ate them along with some nice marcona almonds and cambazola and greek olives. The next day, I dredged them in cornmeal and fried them, and we had fried oyster sandwiches with chipotle mayo and beautiful slices of heirloom tomatoes, on soft rolls. I have to say, cooking school has really improved my frying skills. It's all about temperature, and proper draining.

* Babette's Feast -- took in an afternoon showing on my downstairs television. The look on her face when she finally sits down and sips her wine, after preparing the meal of her life: that's what it's all about.