My amazing food week whirlwind

Shabbot Dinner
Did you ever have a weekend that was completely filled with great food and great people. Well this past weekend was one of those food, fun, people, food and more food weekends, which quickly melted into a glorious food week. 
There are times when I am just craving a great meal, but settle for a tuna sandwich for lack of time, energy, ingredients or an invitation. Then what to my wondering eyes should appear but an entire week of
invites and meals to just dream about.
It all started Friday night with a Shabbot dinner at one of my friend's home. She has these dinners on a regular basis and always has the dinner "regulars" whom all love the ritual of
bringing the food to the table as well as eating, conversing and then the quick clean up and the best part of the dinner, the desserts.
This dinner was especially wonderful, probably because this is the time of year when people start to feel
the desire to get cozy around the dinner table with dishes that warm the hands as well as the heart.
The suprise for this dinner was not only the menu but the guests. We had two newcomers who just
filled the room with energy and curiosity. Not only did they look like a celebrity couple but we thought
they were celebrities, because they handled all the interrogations like they were on the red carpet. She was poised and beautiful and he was charming and somewhat like a folk singer turned talk show host. Their newness and charm invited questions and conversation that was new and exciting. Not that our normal conversations weren't exciting, but something about a new guest gives new life to the usual comfort in a routine. Kudos to the hostess who always knows how to please her guests.
The conversation was continuous and laughter was rolling along with the summer end menu
of grilled hamburgers, hot dogs and the fall edition of lasagna, greek salad and roasted vegetables.
The grilled burgers and dogs put the right spin on the feel of the night, because everyone is always
sad to see the summer go. Here in Michigan we barely get a chance to see the summer, let
alone feel what it really should be like. So hot dogs and burgers helped to welcome the fall but
remember the feel of summer slowly leaving.
The culmination of the dinner is usually the expectation of something sweet and I of course was
summoned to bring dessert. So being the aspiring baker, pastry chef, and cook that I think I am
I deliberated as usual over what would be appropriate for this lovely gathering of friends and family.
My conclusion was my triple chocolate double layer cake with double chocolate cream cheese frosting.
Wow that was a mouthful----and yes it was if I must say so myself--amazing!! I surprised myself
with this devilish chocolate confection. If the new couple was a celebrity this was their celebrity's cake!
Everyone loved it---even me!!.   To all who want to have a wonderful gathering -have a Shabbot
dinner and invite someone new and someone dear but always serve chocolate cake, because Shabbot
dinners and chocolate cake could possibly be the answer to world peace!!!!

my amazing food week whirlwind to be continued on the next post.

Today I had one of the best lunches that I have had in quite some time. I went to a fabulous vegetarian resturant in Royal Oak, Inn Season Cafe. I went with a very new friend that I just had the pleasure of meeting at one of my many jobs. She is also a foodie, a personal chef, very energetic and most of all passionate about the art she loves, cooking.  Upon meeting we both struck up a great conversation and somehow realized we both had the same passion, loving to cook for the people we love and anyone else who would love to eat what we cook.
She is a vegetarian, but I really am not, I still love my chicken pot pies and my tuna salad sandwiches,
but I also can love a completely vegetarian meal, which at times I crave. We love the fact that we both cook to make people happy and the process of cooking itself. So many people find it hard to cook a meal, but there are some that find the entire process, from planning, to shopping, to preparing, to the last sizzle in the pan, quite a ritual of satisfaction. My personal pleasure is really seeing the finished product and the smile that it brings to the person I serve it to. I don't love to eat but I sure love to cook so everyone else can eat. I think my new friend and I share that love together.

We shared food pictures like we were sharing pictures of our children. There is something
wonderful about seeing a piece of carrot cake on a beautiful glass plate that just says
perfection.

The Inn Season Cafe had a great atmosphere, homey and cozy. Everyone there knew my friend,
which led me to believe that, one, she is a very wonderful person and two ,that the Inn Season is
a very small town everyone knows each other and everyone knows your name kind of place.

I had the bean quesidilla which was so full of flavor,so fresh, so delightful to put in my mouth that
I felt like it came right from Mexico. My friend had a beautiful stir fry that came in the most beautiful
classic white bowl, and it was piled with lots of veggies and both dishes looked like they were photos waiting to be printed in Martha Stewart Living magazine.

The tea we ordered was served in charming little classic teacups, each with beautiful designs and it seemed as though they had just reached into my grandmothers china cabinet to serve us. I was delightfully impressed at this little touch because when the cup was placed in front of me my heart
went ah-h-h-h!

We sat for quite awhile not realizing the time passing by and the rain outside, greying up the
streets, because where we sat, it felt like a garden filled with life and light from the people inside
enjoying the meals made from the beautiful vegetables that gardens provide. Despite the rain
Inn Season Cafe was truly a sunny experience.