Whining and Dining - Out on the Town

These past two months have been a whirl of dinners, banquets and parties. Mamma mia! I really have to keep the dining in check so I don't have to move up a size. Good thing I go to the gym five times a week, but sometimes I feel like I'm running just to stay even.

Last week I attended a dinner to honor five outstanding "people of character." The food was edible but not remarkable - the usual chicken with rice, plus a limp salad and a dessert I can't even recall. But previous to that, I attended a black-tie ball - the Medici Ball at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose. Banquet meals are hard to pull off, but this was great. The salad included a timbale of herbed cream cheese wrapped with lox and topped with creme fraiche, caviar and capers. Totally indulgent! The double-cut lamb chops were wonderfully mild and juicy. But unfortunately, I didn't get to sample the dessert. We got up from the table briefly for the silent auction, and when we returned, we found that desserts were given only to people who were still sitting at their tables. Everyone else - including those on the dance floor - were skipped over. It was fine for my waistline, but the tart did look wonderful, so I was sorry to miss it.

Donna