Domingo, Mission San Luis Rey

All of this holiday eating and feasting is not exactly helping my waist line. It seems like the last two months have been one long running sybaritic orgy of gluttony. We decided to get some exercise and walk on the beach today.

After joining Reneé for a lovely mexican brunch (butterflied shrimp in garlic, tortillas, rice and beans), we started driving to the ocean. By the way Reneé let me know that she was no longer sore at me for putting soap in her prized cast iron pot. Nor for getting duck fat all over her range. She followed me around her kitchen like a hawk, holding a pan under me at every opportunity, so that I would not destroy her kitchen with my carelessness. She also told me how delicious the duck fat cracklings were that we cooked down in the pan. I think that I will do a goose next time and refine my craft. Glad that Reneé is so good natured.

Leslie decided to call our friend Corrie en route to the coast. Corrie runs the San Luis Rey Mission gift shop and is one of my favorite people in the world. Corrie lost a dear friend recently, Franciscan brother Kelly Cullen. Kelly died of an aneurysm while in Rome in November. He was a tireless worker for the downtrodden, both in Oceanside and in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco where he worked on housing the poor for many years. He touched the lives of a lot of people in a most positive way in his short 57 years.

I met Kelly several times and he came to my fiftieth birthday party. A very charming man. He will be really missed.

Corrie introduced me to Father David, the new head of the Mission. I really liked him. David came to the mission recently after a long period doing his work in Kazakhstan, near the Chinese border. Corrie told David that I liked to take photographs and he gave me permission to take shots in the chapel and gave us a cook's tour of the whole place.

He pointed out a lot of the great prized paintings in the church's possession and showed me figures of various saints, some that are not of the same period or quality as the others and might be replaced someday if the Mission has the money. I told him that I would keep my eyes open as I occasionally run into such things in Santa Fe. I love the mission and jokingly told him that he would be doubly blessed for having two jews there in one morning. Even called him Dave and gave him a playful pat on the shoulder. I hope to see him again.

After we left the church I walked into the graveyard and took pictures of some of the old gravestones, some dating to the early 19th century. There is even a large mass indian grave. A certain area of the mission grounds is roped off for a future archaeology project.

We said our goodbyes and drove to the coast when it started to rain. Leslie and I shifted into plan b, going to the store and getting a bottle of domestic Mumms, M Cuvee. We stopped by Ron and Lena's. Ron and Lena have been my friends for over thirty years. She said something that made me feel funny, talking about all the food on my blog lately, half jokingly making a statement that I was turning into a bit of a snob.

My degenerate ways of late came flooding past me like a tidal wave - truffles, caviar, duck, Veuve Cliquot, my god, she is right, I have turned into a frigging foodie snob. How can I cry about my destitute lot in life when I am dining like a crazed gourmand at a food orgy who is channeling James Beard? And to top it all off, we have reservations at the French Laundry at the beginning of next month. Egads, am I really that bad?

Don't they realize I would be just as happy with a double chili cheese at Tommy's? The perfect buck fifty carnitas taco at Bull taco? Guess I might as well enjoy the ride while it lasts.

We met the neighborhood cat, Stewie who fell asleep on my chest and was just a great kitty. Watched a little football. Never cleared up, never stopped raining, never got my walk at the beach in. Our old friend Ralph stopped by and joined us for dinner. We hadn't seen him for ages and it was nice to reconnect.

Anyway something funny happened. Lena made us dinner. Not just any dinner. A serious gourmet "blog" dinner. Tiger prawns sautéed in garlic and shallots, covered with basil, served on top of a risotto with asparagus, parmesan and saffron. Beautiful pine green spanish olives. Sauvignon Blanc. Totally top shelf. She accompanied the gorgeous dinner with a special Okinawan Soju, a rice spirit with added mold, something on the order of botrytis. Leslie stuck cucumbers in the drink and says it was amazing. Almost melon flavored.They also showed us a thirty year bottle of Sauza. I was driving in the rain and did very little drinking all night but intend to go back for a rain check with the tequila. I go to people's houses now and I am getting their a game. Even lifelong friends. Wow.

I took pictures but said that I was getting a bad reputation for all this fancy eating on the blog and that I couldn't possibly write about food again, especially so soon after the New Years gorge but she told me I had to post it so I will.  Against my better judgement. But it was a fantastic feast so what the hell. Anyone that wants to invite me to dinner at any time the rest of the month please email me with a prospective menu and I will look at the calendar. Will give your meal a lot of serious cyberlove.