The Show Must Go On

One thing that we have been making a concerted effort to try to do, is support friends of ours, by attending their gigs. It’s amazing to see people we know in their element, doing what they love. The upside is that many of these shows are not expensive to attend, I highly recommend it. One such artist recently had his debut on the Met Opera stage, which was live streamed all around the world. It’s cool to see someone you know, and have performed with, much larger than life on the big screen. A few weeks later we heard that he was giving a recital in Hamilton, so off we went. From grand opera, with full orchestra, to seeing just him and his accompanist on stage in a much smaller space is a cool juxtaposition. What touched me was seeing him perform 3 poems set to music by a local composer, with the composer’s family in attendance. These moments are unique and unrepeatable. This of course led to a dinner invitation for our friend, to catch up and celebrate with him.

The unfortunate part of this story is that a mere few weeks before this dinner was to happen I (David) was shipped over to Belgrade for work. This might be one of those times when we should cancel…. Steph recently wrote a blog post about how sometimes the show cannot go on https://www.stephaniemartinmusic.com/new-and-exciting-things/ . Luckily we were not at that point yet, so Shawn soldiered on, without his sous-chef and went ahead with Monday Night Dining. As an extra treat they also invited Norma, another internationally acclaimed artist. Shawn whipped up an Italian inspired feast and our remaining duo gathered for a sumptuous dinner.

The meal started with fresh tomato soup, with garlic crostini and grated parmesan cheese.

This was followed by an antipasti board which included: Tuscan bean Salad, Sicilian Caponata with Currants and Pine Nuts, Marinated Mushrooms, and home-made grissini.

This was quite a feat to prep and serve all of this food. I must have been missed, but more importantly I missed sampling these offerings.

For the main, Shawn made the one dish I told him never to make without me… Rotolo. This involves rolling out sheets of pasta and gluing them together (with water). He made a filling of roasted butternut squash with fennel, red chili, coriander seeds and spinach, sautéed with nutmeg and garlic. This is spread on the pasta and rolled up jelly-roll style, wrapped in a clean tea towel, and trussed up with string. Once it has been boiled and sliced, it was served with a sage and butter sauce.

Here is where I really get jealous… Desserts are usually my purview, but Shawn outdid himself with Cranberry Chocolate Blintzes!

Unfortunately I did not get to try this delicacy, but with wonderful guests like Brett and Norma, wonderful food and Steph’s cozy house, how could it miss the mark?