on eating out : "bliends" who can cook are a very special find

i credit ms. gretchen,

who no longer blogs

(sad smiley face)

with the term "bliends".

"bliends" are people with whom  you have an almost intimate connection through blogging,

yet have never met in person,

and may never meet in your life.

you may share daily stories, 

banter in the comment sections,

or merely flirt around the edges,

but i have found these people to be a gift in my life,

providing what my mother often called

"the unexpected comfort of strangers"

to me over and over.

so,

imagine the fun of getting to meet in person.

no, seriously, jim and lyle are SO much fun in person.

i don't care what those other blogs say.

we met up as a four-top at comme ca the first time,

with this fortuitous quote

to carry us through the french 75s and foie gras:

fortuitous because the darlings are off to paris in a few weeks,

and french 75s because,

they were there.

a few weeks later,

we got invited to their home,

where lyle went crazy in the kitchen.

and by crazy,

i mean (brace yourself here)

foie gras macaroons.

uh huh.

here's the menu:

foie gras macaroons, 

duck confit with lentils & fig balsamic reduction, 

pork porterhouse with Sauteed potatoes, apples and pears 

and for dessert (OMG) vanilla pot au creme with chocolate biscuits.

PLUS:

pretty home with spotted puppies

cute new dinner companions

and a sense of humor about my incessant pic taking.

besos, blog world!