We had two dinners to attend over the weekend.  The first was at our friends’ Kelly & Ian’s home.  Ian is a chef turned accountant who is pursing his dream of wine and is now a wine maker!  We always know the food will be good and the wine will be flowing.  (I am not good at describing food I did not cook, so I am jumping to highlights & photos).

We started with assorted cheeses, meats, olives and a fantastic Salt Cod Dip.

The main attraction was crab, roasted potatoes with chorizo and asparagus.

Dessert was a chocolate hazelnut tart that I brought along – Tartine bakery recipe!!

Sunday night we had our annual Crab Fest with our friends Will & Evelyn and the MEM!  Every year right before Christmas we head over to their place, a mere 3 minute walk, for a fantastic night of food and company!

We started the evening with Kistler Chardonnay and a smoked salmon dip a Barefoot Contessa recipe.

Then we moved on to the Crab, which was served cold with lots of warm butter and lemon.  We also had Evelyn’s famous Uncle Rich’s salad and crusty sourdough bread.

Then we had a pasta course with a slightly spicy tomato and pancetta based sauce – was really fantastic – we need to get the recipe.

Dessert, well it is a big fat secret and you will have to come back on December 28th to find out!

Recipe

Smoked Salmon Dip

8oz Cream Cheese

8 oz Sour Cream

4 oz Smoked Salmon

Fresh Horseradish – zested to 1 TBS

Fresh Dill – minced to 1 TBS

1 small Lemon – juiced (if you can find use Meyers)

Salt & Pepper to taste

Mix sour cream, cream cheese, horseradish, dill, and lemon juice in a food processor until smooth.  Add salmon and pluse until chopped into chunks but not smooth or it will turn pink.  Season with salt and pepper.