Phew!  It’s been a nutty summer!  I have so many events to catch you up on!  Next up, is yet another fun event at Joseph Jane Winery.  There’s been so many….this one was a low country boil.  Except I don’t call it that.  I call it the Basil & Sage high country boil.  I mean, we are in the Pacific Northwest after all.

If you haven’t been to Joseph Jane yet, I suggest you get on it.  I’m there a lot.  Well….more than most wineries.  We’ve had several events there, the wine is exceptional, they serve local craft beers, and now there’s a wood fired pizza oven.  All of that can be enjoyed on a fantastic patio complete with a firepit.  What else is there?!

Since moving here a few years ago, I’ve seen the husband half of that team, Leon, really grow and blossom.  After meeting the other half of the team, Kayla, and marrying and starting their own fledgling family, I’ve seen Leon’s wine really take off.  The Chardonnay is super approachable and frankly, a little too easy drinking.  Ok, I’m speaking for myself.  Ha!  The reds Leon is putting out are all the things you’d expect from ten year old bottles….complex and long finishing.

Every year, we do a dinner or two as a donation and Leon and Kayla have always been hospitable and supportive.  This year, they opened up their home to us again and we are so grateful for their generosity.  Everyone was in attendance, including Swing From The Vines and some of Elizabeth’s children.  We even had live music!

What is a high country boil, anyway?  Basically, I swap out corn for artichokes, I do several dipping aiolis, and at least two different flavors of clarified butter.  And that’s really it.  This year I caught the dungeness crab myself with the help of our friend, Lem.  He even helped me catch the tuna!  It’s good to have friends!   We added cold water lobster tails, and the largest shrimp I could find.  The boil pot was huge!  I delegated that to Hubs.  He’s got the muscles.

But before all that, we had to have some alligator.  Because why not?  Alright, alright….I fried it and put it on a salad.  The amuse bouche was my line caught tuna with a wee bit of caviar.  Because caviar!  The sorbet was peach and simply perfect.  We couldn’t decide on dessert so we had two; bite sized eclairs and poached pears in chocolate sauce.  Elizabeth even made dish towel bibs.  I got to keep one!  It was definitely a party for the books.  There’s even a video of the end of the night debauchery.  Kayla looks so cute expecting their second baby!