Persian Food, Fauns, and Fun, but first - NOG!

King NOG

It was a fantastic San Diego weekend of holiday cheer, but before I fill you in on food, fun, and fauns I need to redirect the many NOG requests to the recipe and method I posted a week or so ago, hope you are able to add it to your holiday imbibing, just tap on the NOG link and off you go!

NOG

Jack, NOG and Cream -- time to mix and sip!

TAKE the JUMP for FOOD, FUN and FAUNS...

It all started Friday night in Lake Elsinore. I'm a freelance writer for Inland Empire Magazine and Taste of Italia. I was commissioned to write a piece on a fun new Persian/Afghanistan restaurant - King Kabob. So Jake and I stopped in for dinner before continuing on to San Diego...

King Kabob ready to kick off Friday night

It's a great space, started by a young, hip guy named Haroon Ali -- with a name like that, how can he NOT be hip!

We started with an appetizer called Sambosa, served with Chatni sauce. It was delicious...

Spicy Chicken Sambosa with Chatni Sauce

We shared two entrees - one was Chicken Korma and the other Lamb Kabob. We also asked for the Albalo Polo (rice cooked with sour cherries)... WOW - what a great balancing act with the savory lamb....

Lamb Kabob with Albalo Polo

Of course no meal is complete without a good beverage pairing, we chose beer... thankfully Jake knows his beer and made two great Mediterranean beer choices...

Chicken Korma with TAJ Mahal beer

With full tummies, we headed on to San Diego for one of my favorite holiday parties of the year. Our friends, Brian and Phil, sure know how to greet guests...

Grapefruit Martini Greeting

And that was Friday night, the real party wasn't until Saturday night... with San Diego's mild climate and a fantastic party yard complete with fire pit, and outdoor spa, Saturday couldn't come soon enough. And it was the debut of their recently completed yard designed by Steve Wichmann - Jake has some amazing shots of the yard, you should click on Steve's link - AMAZING WORK...

Party yard ready for its debut

I happily helped with a little table design for the buffet...

Buffet table waiting to be loaded up

And, I started out so composed and feeling hip in my black mock turtle....

Can the party please commence?

Of course, with a special guest faun named Pan, the party was soon to change...

Pan says "Time to Celebrate"

And SO IT DID...

Patrick and Phil... OH, THAT PHIL and the things he gets me into!!!

Needless to say, I was (for once) thankful that our drive home on Sunday included an important Bronco's game on the radio... it allowed me to sleep while keeping Jake alert and focused on his driving...

Hope your weekend offered you some fun and lightness as well...