between the laughter and tears of joy at my 33rd birthday celebration, i took a moment to speak to my family + friends who were present to express my deep sense of gratitude. without question, my love languages are quality time and acts of service. walking into a room full of people i love with my entire heart nearly knocked the wind out of me. once i gathered myself, i spoke about how each person was present for a reason, one being the reciprocity between us. sometimes, i think it is easy to take reciprocal relationships for granted. i certainly don’t at this stage in my life. it was beautiful to witness my people simply showing up for me.
“i love when someone shows up for you in the same way you do for them…that’s rare.”
in seeing this quote, i am fortunate that many people come to mind. someone who consistently knocks it out of the park is jaclyn. we’ve known each other for 15 years this fall. from living in the same dorm to working in psych research labs to being roommates after college to working together in residence life while in the same grad school program to being present for every major life event (graduations, weddings, big moves, funerals, birth of children, etc.) and now, both being therapists – jaclyn has ALWAYS had both the ability and the willingness to meet me exactly where i am. the added bonus of being in jaclyn’s life? being welcomed into her family as if they were my very own. we have grown closer even while our lives have been more full than what we knew we could each handle. somehow, we manage to fill one another’s cups. it is rare and i am grateful beyond belief.
jaclyn + i at her wedding in july ‘16
happy birthday, jaclyn. thank you for modeling that it is in fact possible to have it all – family, friends, health and wellness, an amazing private practice and so much more. i admire and love you more than i could ever describe. cheers to 33.
you know those friends that just make your heart overflow because they see you, understand you and lift you up? that is exactly why my wednesday night happy hour turned dinner turned late night living room lounge session with dana made my entire week exponentially better. it only makes sense that someone who so effortlessly makes my heart full does the same with our tummies.
if you are new to my blog, do yourself a favor and take in all of the wonder that is verde supper club. the one i attended last summer was truly an experience but let me tell you – not just the cuisine but the venue (starr lake vineyards) of the second one i attended was TO DIE FOR.
view from our dinner table at starr lake vineyards
since my friend got sick shortly before my first supper club, i flew solo. luckily, dana surrounds herself with phenomenal people so the conversation at dinner was captivating. for this one, i was fortunate enough to have my friend melissa join me. with her being a fellow foodie and wine lover, i knew we would be in for an incredible evening from start to finish. as always, dana did not disappoint.
let’s dive into the menu!
verde supper club menu – as soon as we saw it, we knew we were in for a treat!amuse bouche – melinda’s famous smoked salmon on an “everything but the bagel” focaccia crostini with whipped ricotta, fresh herbs and fried capers – served with bricoleur flying by the seat of our pants brut
as someone who eats smoked salmon a couple of days per week as part of my breakfast, this is something i knew i would love. the fried capers added great flavor and texture.
first course – shrimp aguachile with tomatillos, serrano chiles and kumquats – served with the beautiful beverage below
the la girl in me could not get over the shrimp aguachile. it tasted like summer, especially when paired with the vibrant aqua fresca. from start to finish, it was so fresh and flavor packed.
pineapple and mint agua fresca with vida mezcal
dana frequently has me venture outside of my comfort zone. while mezcal is not something i typically seek out, if this pineapple and mint agua fresca with vida mezcal was available by the gallon, i would be all over it.
second course – vichyssoise with seared scallops, smoked maitake mushrooms and truffle oil – served with ram’s gate sonoma coast chardonnay
my love for seafood truly felt catered to, especially with this being the third dish in a row with seafood. there was such variety in terms of the type of fish and more importantly, the preparation. many of us at the table were not people who would seek out a chardonnay and were pleasantly surprised with how much we enjoyed it, specifically when paired with the vichyssoise.
third course – “the untaco” homemade bacon fat tortilla, au poivre aioli, arugula, green apples, shaved fennel and sous vide pork roast – served with leo steen saini farms chenin blanc 2022
there is no circumstance where i would be saying no to a homemade tortilla, especially when it has bacon fat. this taco was so phenomenal that one of the guests (who ended up sending me a magnum bottle of pinot noir after losing a bet) walked into the kitchen to request another one. they were that good.
fourth course – homemade mediterranean spiced lamb sausage, sautéed peppers and onions and yogurt garlic sauce – served with bella lily hill estate zinfandel 2019
i am a sucker for lamb and this homemade sausage was not too gamey, even for the people at the table who do not typically consume lamb. it was smart of dana to not serve us carbs on this plate because we needed space for the next dish…
fifth course – rigatoni with braised short rib ragu – served with wilson snake patch petite sirah 2019
even after midnight in our hotel room, melissa said, “do you know what i would give for that braised short rib rigatoni? literally anything.” did i laugh? yes. was it to avoid crying because we did not have any? also, yes. the braised short rib was so tender. the rigatoni? just al dente enough to carry the weight of the short rib. the petite sirah? our side of the table couldn’t just have a single pour because it not only tasted wonderful with our pasta, it tasted wonderful all on its own.
if i was choosing a single dessert for the rest of my life, it would be ice cream. dana does me in every single time because she makes all of her ice cream from scratch. added bonus? it was not a dessert drowning in chocolate. i would gladly take fruit flavored ice cream (especially something like lemon) daily if possible. the almond poppy seed crumble is something i would have been happy to just eat by the handful.
i did not think it was possible but somehow, dana created an even more spectacular supper club menu than the one i had attended months before. who could say no to a traveling, intimate, multi-course dining experience with wine/beverage pairings? i will be back as many times as she will have me.
i hope summer has been treating each of you well. it is unfathomable that we are in mid august. if you are in california like me, you are likely ready for fall weather because this humidity has been total bullshit.
anyway, i have really missed blogging on a weekly basis. i was chatting with my twin a couple of months ago about how it didn’t feel right to allocate time each week to post when i had as much going on in my life both personally and professionally. in june, i told her that i had a feeling august would be the most stable month of my year thus far and fortunately, that was spot on. it only seemed right to start with a thought of the week.
i consider myself to be rich in my relationships. my grandfather often says that i have this “special something” passed along from my grammy to my mom and uncle and now, to me. the four of us tend to form genuine connections with people no matter the environment – we could be at work, school, the grocery store, a music festival, you name it. over the years, i have been fortunate enough to pick up members of what i’d call my “chosen family” along the way. some i have been fortunate enough to have since i was a baby (like my godsister) and others, i have connected with in the last year (like my colleague turned friend, wilson) since being back at scu. while longevity in relationships is something i deeply appreciate, especially because there are certain things a person is able to have a deeper understanding of because of watching you live/work through a particular experience, the older i’ve gotten, the more i’ve realized how frequently we will give certain behaviors a pass due to longevity while discounting other relationships due to brevity.
there are people who have only been in my life for a handful of years who i truly have reciprocal relationships with – that is more than i can say for some whom i share a bloodline with. i am now in a space where i am hyper aware of the way a relationship adds, or in some cases, subtracts from my life. i am asking myself what was learned? am i better for having the relationship? does the relationship have balance? is the relationship authentic? these questions have truly helped me determine what and who is worth pouring into. this quote summed it up perfectly:
“i have stopped measuring the success of any relationship based on its longevity. instead, i look at its impact. the way the relationship has shaped, changed, inspired, or wounded me speaks to what the relationship really was.” -sara kuburic
what have you been measuring – the longevity or the impact?
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