Pete's tradition of treating some lucky friends to a multi-course meal to celebrate the changing seasons continued yesterday with an eclectic menu of delights based on the long history of human amusements and games.
The night began with one of Pete's best-loved creations, the hamachi shot, a blend of sushi, avocado, and...I'm not sure what else, but they were delicious. And I don't even like sushi.
This is kofta, a blend of ground lamb and beef, served with pita bread and aliyyeh, a truly scrumptious sauce made with walnuts, coriander, jalapeno and other spices. The meat was excellent, but the sauce was so good that you could eat it straight out of the bowl - as a couple of guests did.
When I left, I told Pete the kofta and aliyyeh was my favourite dish of the night, but on second thought I may have to give the edge to his Louisiana Cajun gumbo, a savoury blend of rice, sausage, chicken, shrimp and spices. Mike, who had recently travelled to New Orleans, declared it authentically Cajun.
Pete's dinners stretch out over the course of long evenings, so this time around Ellen organized a game of Code Names to play while we waited for the main course, a hearty serving of roast beef, potatoes, carrots and sweet potatoes that I somehow failed to photograph...mainly because I was too busy stuffing my face, I suppose.
To wrap up the evening, Pete served chocolate or vanilla cakes shaped like D20s to honour our many nights spent playing Dungeons & Dragons and other role-playing games. As you'd expect from a fine cake, these were moist, rich, sweet and delicious.
Mike and Kelly (right) flew in from Vancouver Island to partake in the meal and the fellowship. Needless to say, it was great to have them join us!
Just after midnight we posed for the obligatory "groupie," as Ellen calls the traditional group photo.
