Down to the last few days in my twenties. Eric has been joking for the past month that I need to order my coffin. My gay death is quickly approaching, he tells me, at which point I remind him that, no matter how old I get, I’ll always be his younger man. Ever since he turned thirty, I’ve tried to envision what we’d do to celebrate my introduction to the next decade of my life. For his birthday, we ate at The French Laundry. I had it in my head that we should do something equally extravagant for mine. Maybe a trip to New York to eat at Eleven Madison or Le Bernadin. One of our bucket list restaurants. Then we moved into our house and everything changed. I had dreams of hosting friends and family, gathering in our backyard, eating food fresh off the grill. There'd be copious amounts of cheese and wine. And laughter.
That's all I really want and that's exactly what we have planned for this coming weekend. As always, Eric and I have made plans to do a more intimate dinner on my actual birthday on Monday (I also have a much needed massage scheduled for that morning). Overall, I think we have some nice activities in the works.
Everyone's been asking me if I'll be cooking for the party. We had talked briefly about having it catered, but that just didn't feel right. I get so much joy out of feeding people that it would be odd for me to present someone else's food. One of the dishes I've prepared are these marinated mushrooms. It's a very easy appetizer to create and one that can be multiplied for larger groups. I expect that they'll go well with the rest of our spread: cheeses, olives, roasted tomatoes, grilled fish and smoked brisket.
In other news, I am thrilled to share that I have a few of my photos being displayed at the Boston Center for Adult Education. Ok... maybe a few is an understatement, since it's actually 50. I was so honored when I was asked to create a show for the gallery space. It's titled The Mood of Food and it'll be up for the next month. On September 19th, the BCAE is hosting a reception that's open to the public. They've put together quite the event... with wine, beer, a cocktail (they're serving up my blackberry shrub) and some tasty bites. If you live in Boston, I'd love to see you there! (Click here for more details)
Marinated Mushrooms
Source Very mildly adapted from the recipe by Tyler Florence
Ingredients
1/2 cup olive oil 2 pounds cremini or button mushrooms, cleaned and quartered 2 lemons, zested and juiced 3 garlic cloves, sliced 1 small bunch fresh thyme 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary 2 bay leaves Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
1. Add 1/4 cup olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook them for about 3 minutes.
2. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon zest and juice, garlic, thyme, rosemary and bay leaves.
3. Pour over the remaining olive oil and season the mixture with salt and pepper. Pour into a bowl and allow to cool. Serve at room temperature.
