Got this from facebook, and decided to do it on here.

What I had to eat on Monday night.

Isn't it funny that Twitter has become so popular? I suppose its because celebrities are so revered in this society, but have you seen some of the stuff these celebrities have written in there? I mean some celebrities are actually writing about what they just ate. Stuff like, "I just ate a Philly cheese steak, it was the bomb!" I mean I'm sorry but I can't understand why useless information like that can be so popular to read. So I've decided to do these celebrity punks one better. Last night I got the great privilege to partake in a very elegant dinner at Catch 35 where the executive chef and the owner to a particular wine maker pair up to create this extremely well balanced and match meal. You get to try full glasses of fantastic wines and eat dishes that you would literally see on television. So I figured with an experience such as last night, what better way to show up those celebrities than to post the menu of what I had for dinner on Monday night.

The wine was from Crios de Susana Balbo, a wine from Argentina, consisted of a collection predominately red with the exception for the wine they served during the reception course.

Reception

East Coast Grilled oyster.

Pork Tenderloin skewer topped with a Chimichurri butter and browned butter almond vinaigrette.

That was complimented with a Torrontes white wine.

First Course

Chilled Gnocchi salad with grilled vegetables.

That was complimented with a wonderful Rose of Malbec. This was one of my favorite wines of the meal. It was almost pink in color, I guess you could say rose, and it was incredibly fruity and slightly sweet.

Second Course

Monk fish with a Linguica Bolognese sauce, atop Manchego mashed potatoes.

That was complimented with a Syrah. This is traditionally what Argentinean wines are known for, a dry deep red wine like the Syrah. It paired very well with the smokiness of the Bolognese sauce.

Third Course

Braised lamb tamale covered with a Puttanesca sauce (made from olives).

This was complimented with a Cabernet Sauvignon. For anyone that knows wine, this is another bold, dry red wine. It's full bodied and kind of acidic. This type of wine traditionally is paired with a redder meat like beef, but the chef stays true to his theme of matching the wines to the sauces. In this case, the Puttanesca sauce made from olives has a very briny, almost meaty flavor in itself and complimented the dryness of the Cabernet Sauvignon.

Fourth Course

Capricho de Cabra Goat Cheese over top a fried Plantain and finally drizzled with honey.

This was complimented by a Malbec, and certainly one of my other favorites out of the samplings. This dish was a great example of how simple dishes can really be the most complex in flavor. It blew me away to be perfectly honest with you. The goat cheese used was such a different texture than the goat cheeses I've seen before. It had the consistency of mozzarella but it had a very sharp and clean taste. It was put over a fried plantain which was sweet and salty and sturdy enough to act as a cracker. My only critique was that I thought the fried plantain was a little to hard which made cutting it with a knife difficult.

Intermezzo

No wines were featured for this because it was just an appetite cleanser. The chef prepared a grape and preserve lemon salad. Instead of using the traditional lemon sorbet, he decided to do something different that achieved the same results. It was very clean and fresh tasting.

Fifth Course

Chimichurri Marinated Beef served with braised red and pinto beans. Garnished by fennel and crispy plantains.

This was complimented with a "Expresivo" Mendoza. Probably the only dish I didn't completely fall in love with. I thought the Chimichurri marinated beef was cooked to perfection but I thought the red and pinto beans were a bit too heavy and smokey for me. However, to be fair to the chef, staying consistent to his theme he did manage to pair the sauce to the wine very well.

Sixth Course

Dark Chocolate Empanada and Tres Leches Cake both drizzled with a Sweet Corn Semi-Fredo sauce.

This was complimented with a great Virtuoso Late Harvest Malbec. This was quite surprising to me, it had the appearance of a Cabernet or Malbec but the taste was very sweet and smooth. Different from other dessert wines, this wine was a lot more mellow maintaining its Argentinean reputation of being one of the best red wine producers on the planet.

...So there you have it....Take that Ashton!

Alright so I know I'm probably the last person among my group of friends that still writes in here...or at least lately, I know Nick you're current situation doesn't really give you much time to sit down and write a entry. This has got me thinking of whether or not I should move on. I type in the URL address of xanga and come to that home page before logging into my account and all I see are highlighted entries from younger people who more than likely are still in high school that try to be insightful based on their limited amount of life experience. I guess to someone my age, seeing 16-18 year old's talk about how hard life is kind of disenchanting and I can see why xanga no longer has the allure it once did. However, this isn't about that. I continue to write because its a release for me. Sure I can do the other blogging sites but what difference does it make? I'm perfectly content on staying on here and expressing my thoughts just as I have been for the past six or seven years.

...Now to the real post...

I just got back from my vacation in the Caribbean, and it was great. So relaxing. So different from Chicago and so beautiful. We did a lot of cool and exciting things while there, like snorkeling and zip lining, but I feel the highlight of the whole vacation was the relaxing. There were some days we opted not to do anything but just sit on the beach with our bottle of sunblock, an ipod, and a good book to read. One of my favorite things to do while we were laying out was to put on my ipod and observe the people on the beach and in the ocean. I was blown away how every song that came up on my shuffled ipod somehow fit the surroundings. For instance, I started off by listening to Jack Johnson and Bob Marley because I felt that given the circumstances that was the most appropriate choice. I was captivated by how well the sound of the rolling waves crashing into the shore fit in perfectly with the melody of Jack Johnson. I hung on to every word sung by Bob Marley as I looked at people playing and having fun in the ocean, just the way Bob would have wanted it. Then came the true test, how well would the carefree spirit of the beach and ocean do paired up with say a more aggressive band like the Smashing Pumpkins? The answer, to my surprise, was fantastically. The song "Everlasting Gaze" came on and suddenly the mood of the beach shifted from happy to almost scary (but in an awesome way). Instead of looking at something that resembled a Sandals vacation commercial with people splashing and having fun in the ocean, the Smashing Pumpkins turned it on its head and made it look like the ocean was swallowing these people. It was very entertaining. Blame it on too much "rum punch" but I will never listen to the Smashing Pumpkins the same way again.

Stress and how I try to manage it.

Judging by the title of this entry, it kind of sounds like one of those self help books. You know the one's I'm talking about, "How to win friends," "How to manage your money, and get rich," and "How to be cool," that one I'm working on since I'm obviously the expert on this matter. Seriously though, I've been under a lot of stress lately and I've so far learned one thing: stress can make you crazy. Stress is one of those things that is generally externally triggered, but internally felt. Stress can paralyze you and leave you feeling helpless and weighed down with obligations. Coming from the kid who has two jobs, and goes to class full time in a graduate program, I'd like to think I know a great deal about stress. I can't tell you that I'm the best at dealing with it, in fact, many may argue (including myself) that I don't handle stress very well at all but regardless I'd say I at least have experience with it.

I've been working on ways to help alleviate these levels of stress but ultimately until the work subsides and I'm finally able to relax and unwind, I seriously doubt I'll ever be free from the pressures of stress. A good portion of the stress I have right now is brought on by the fact that this weekend I leave for vacation to St. Martin. A wonderful place and I can't wait to go, but its the tying up of loose ends before I leave that is going to kill me. Currently on my plate before I leave is: A group paper and powerpoint presentation for my HR Management class, a HR management exam, a group paper for my leadership management class, a case study for my leadership management class, picking my classes for the next nine months of school, a job that is completely inundated with students all of whom have bad attitudes, and a rapidly deteriorating social life. All of which needs to be taken care of in the next two days. I feel nauseous.

Sure, there are times I feel like cashing in my chips and just giving up but my mamma never raised a quitter so I stick through it. I've always been an advocate for delayed gratification and I know that all this hard work and stress will eventually pay off big for me. I'll someday be in a place in my life where I'm truly proud of my accomplishments and happy with the direction its all going. I guess its times like these that make you turn to God and ask for the strength to carry on and make things happen.

Hope all is well for you readers out there...or should I just say Paula? Paula, I hope all is well. Oh and if you leave xanga who will read what I write? It's kind of like that ancient question, "If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around, does it make a sound?" To which I would respond, yes it makes a noise, a sound of me crying that you've left your roots on xanga and moved to a slightly more popular blogging site.

I had a dream last night where I met this beautiful woman who was smart, funny, intellectual, and compassionate. Everything I look for in a woman. We started talking and she was definitely into me, we shared stories of our undergrad years. We expressed our love for sports, especially baseball. We even held hands and cuddled up to one another. The dream was certainly everything I had hoped for in a relationship, and I even felt that tingle in the pit of my stomach that something beautiful was happening to us. That a connection was being made that was well beyond friendship. We had separated a bit in my dream but had plans to return to one another later on...she stood me up. In my own dream, something I should be able to manipulate to turn out for once good for me, actually ended up letting me down. How sad is that? Is this any indication of my own self esteem? I can't even be happy in my dreams of all places. You know I feel my life is turning more and more into a Woody Allen movie, neurotic and slightly depressing.  Maybe I should write a screen play about this.