An evening with Carlos and Paradiso

You have probably heard about the fine art of pairing wine with dinner. An up and coming alternative trend is to pair other types of beverages (such as beer or whiskey) with food. Last week I was privileged to attend an exclusive private dinner at The Phoenician Scottsdale starring the premium tequila El Tesoro paired with luscious gourmet cuisine prepared by their world-renown, award-winning culinary team.

Before we began our evening, the reception featured three cocktails to choose from. Always ready to sample, I had a bit of each – the El Tesoro Platinum Margarita (a margarita with Cointreau and a base of fresh lemon and lime juice), the Silvestri Suizo Sueco (a drier margarita with lingonberry puree, served very fittingly in a martini glass), and a twist on one of my favorites, the 5ive P (a fruit-infused bellini containing El Tesoro Paradiso, Pomegranate Liquor and prosecco).

After taking our seats in the dining room, before us we noticed two things that I never thought I would be served at a sit down dinner - a shot of tequila next to a trio of sushi made with baby octopus. Neither was very tempting to me, so I politely declined. During this time, Carlos Camarena, the owner of the El Tesoro distillery spoke to our small crowd of 60. He explained how his grandfather began making the fine tequila in its current location in 1937 and how his father, and now he, continued the tradition.

As owner and Master Distiller, Carlos’ stories held us captivated. He explained how his family’s tequila was crafted: The care that went in to selecting the right agave, how the product is pure and organic, and how much pride he and his family take in their business. For example, rather than mass produce tequila to 140-160 proof then adding water to make it 80 proof (as most distilleries do), El Tesoro is distilled by hand to be exactly 80 proof. El Tesoro was the first to do this, and is only one of two distilleries in the world who do.

After the wait staff removed the octopus which in all honesty was not easy to look at, but hard to look away from, they replaced it with a much more welcome treat – a Phoenician Tequila Sunrise (the traditional beverage enhanced with Pomegranate Liquor and a touch of sour mix) paired with mini quesadillas filled with roasted hot peppers and a sort of corn fungus that resembled truffles. The sweetness of the drink was the perfect match for the spicy dish. I nearly licked my plate clean and left not one drop in the glass.

Next up was our third course consisting of flaky seabass. Now if you know me, you know I am not a fish-eater, but this dish was actually delightful. Accompanying it was a bloody maria. The fourth course was the most tender pork tenderloin imaginable, in a spicy mole sauce. The beverage served was a traditional margarita made with Reposado tequila, nearly as delicious as the Tequila Sunrise.

As we awaited our next course, Carlos returned to tell more stories including another example of his groundbreaking techniques. A few years back, when he introduced the idea of aging tequila in oak barrels, his industry colleagues laughed at him. Once he tasted the product of this practice, he knew he had a hit and now has a selection of tequilas processed in this manner. Due to its brandy-like nature, the Añejo tequila was presented to us in miniature brandy snifters meant for sipping though doing so made my lips feel as though they were on fire! The accompanying dish was a delightful plate of Mexican cheeses, meant to clear the palate for what was to come – dessert.

The finale was a fabulously-crafted chocolate tequila cake. It was so beautiful – with a lemon custard meringe-like topping, gorgeous sugar work and layers of tequila-soaked dark chocolate cake, I almost didn’t want to touch it. Of course, I devoured it in about a minute! Another mini snifter was included, this time with the collectors-edition, extremely rare Aniversario tequila.

Carlos’ story of the Aniversario tequila is truly fascinating. You can read it in his own words here – the Coincidence of the Lucky 7s. Although I only had a bit of the cognac-like liquor, I knew it was something very, very special – only 2007 bottles were produced in honor of their 70th anniversary last year.

Fortunately I had the good sense to refrain from overindulging (in alcohol anyway) or I could have been in big trouble during the 45-minute drive home. I do feel that the experience was somewhat wasted on me, as someone who doesn’t know enough about tequila (or care to drink it much).

By the way, we did go home some goodie bags which had shot glasses and cocktail shakers. At upwards of $150 per bottle, there was no chance we’d all be taking the tequila home with us (though three lucky people did win bottles as a door prize). Nor is there any chance that I’ll be purchasing some myself. But – I did walk away with the privileged gift of having had a unique experience and a very interesting evening in the company of a master craftsman. For that – I will always be grateful.

Phoenix is on fire!

   

I don’t know how much national news coverage there has been on the fire in South Phoenix but it’s the top news story here. I was driving home Wednesday night when I spotted two huge billowing clouds of smoke emanating from the South valley. At first glance they resembled two tornadoes and with the cloud coverage and 56 degree dewpoint I knew there was a potential for a dust storm/haboob/monsoon. Once my eyes adjusted to the sight, I realized it was smoke. With flat terrain in the valley we are accustomed to seeing house fires from very far away, but I could tell this was no house fire as it was much, much larger. The radio newscast said it was a brush fire caused by lightning strikes.

Although officials originally thought the fire – now named the Ethan Fire – would be fairly easily doused, it has jumped the containment line and may eventually threaten some homes. The problem is that it started in a remote brush area where there are no roads and it was difficult to get equipment in time to get it under control. Also, the California wildfires are using some of the Phoenix-area resources at the moment. Even now, days later, a big black cloud hangs over the valley, blocking out the sun in some areas.

• View a slide show of photos submitted by local residents
• Fox 10 local news coverage with some great aerial shots

In case you were wondering, we aren’t in any danger. Our home is about 50 miles away, though we will be praying for the residents in the area as well as the fire crews. We are far enough away from any sort of brush that would cause this type of damage.

Workin’ it!

I can’t tell you all how happy I am to be back in the land of the working. I am totally LOVING my new job. It’s only been about 5-6 weeks but it seems like so much longer. What I love about it is that I’m doing so much more than “just” meeting planning. I am also acting as the company’s business manager which I am thrilled about. Currently I’m working on writing the business plan – can you believe a company that’s been in business for 8+ years doesn’t have a business plan?

It’s so nice to be really making a difference that affects the bottom line, to know that executive management values your ideas and opinions, to really have a stake in the company you work for. My boss tells me every day how thankful he is that I came to work there and what a great job I’m doing, which is also a nice change of pace. Today he actually told me I’m not allowed to go anywhere – ever! Really, the only crappy thing about it is that it’s about 30 miles each way – 45 minutes to get to work and 60 minutes to get home. If I wasn’t spending $65 a tank maybe that wouldn’t be as big a deal.

In other news, my old laptop fizzled out and I had to buy a new one. I got a screaming deal at Best Buy on an HP model that has 4G of RAM and a 250G hard drive, a built-in webcam and dual microphone system, a TV tuner (no idea what to do with that) and the capability to watch DVDs, play CDs and view photos without booting up the computer. The not-so-great thing is that like all new laptops, it has Vista instead of XP. I’m not a huge fan of Vista and heard that it could potentially slow down my computer. Turns out that’s not really a problem considering the super-speed of the new laptop. The problem is that my photo editing and recipe management programs aren’t compatible with Vista so I’m going to have to figure out a new solution. The worst part is that the recipe software doesn’t even have a Vista version, so I’m back to square one for that. I’m far more confident that I will find a photo program that I like.

Here in Phoenix it has been hot. Really hot. Hot enough to scorch my butt when I sit on my car’s leather seats – even when I have jeans on! Our pool is running at about 85 degrees which is cool compared to our neighbors’. The news said we should be expecting the monsoon dust storms within the coming days and I hope they’re right. Maybe they will bring us some relief! The temps have been hovering between 107-109 with this continuing through the weekend.

Terry, Justin and I went to see Get Smart the other day and really liked it! I went in with low to moderate expectations but was pleasantly surprised once again (as I was with Evan Almighty, Transformers and Iron Man). Some parts were really hilarious actually. Eric didn’t go with us because now that he’s a teenager he pretty much has his own agenda. He actually went to see it only a day later with his girlfriend. I guess he’s just too cool to hang with the family anymore. They grow up so fast!

Another whirlwind weekend!

Friday night was BUNCO at Kathy’s and afterwards we went to Monica’s and joined the guys for the afterparty. While we were there I spotted what I thought was a lizard crawling on the wall behind Terry – but quickly realized it was a large scorpion! In my 7+ years living here in Arizona this is the first time I’ve seen a live one. I was a little freaked out because after all this is my neighborhood, but Monica was even more so since it was her house. Plus she has two kids under age 3. Honestly I’m surprised I haven’t spotted one sooner because of the construction at the old folks’ home behind us. I think that place is almost complete though because they’ve started the landscaping which is usually the last thing to do.

Saturday started with a lazy morning. We went to church at 4 then had dinner at Uncle Bear’s, a local bar and restaurant. Later in the evening we went to a hole in the wall bar called Hollywood Alley to see our friend Phil’s new band The Plump Tones play. They were really good! Even though they opened for another band, they had a bigger draw – probably three times the audience. Here’s a clip of them at another performance – you can also visit their MySpace page here.

Terry woke up to Truck Stop Buttermilk Pancakes for Father’s Day breakfast – still the very best pancake recipe ever. The name says it all! Then we headed to the ballpark to watch the Diamondbacks get beat (once again) to the KC Royals via interleague play. It was an ugly game. Fugly, actually. But we had a good time hanging out and even though it was hotter than Hades outside the ballpark was nice and cool! Then we had Jim & Kathy over for dinner and watched the last part of the US Open. Looks like Tiger Woods will win another one, but I sure would like to see the underdog Rocco Mediate come through. Odds aren’t very good though!

Thanks go out to everyone who’s showed concern over our family illnesses. My grandmother is taking the news of her brain tumor and lymphoma well and I have to believe that now that the doctors know what it is, they can hopefully help her. After many postponements, Terry’s Dad finally had his pacemaker put in on Friday, but they couldn’t release him from the hospital because something wasn’t jiving right with his medications. Unfortunately he won’t be able to get home until at least Wednesday, which means he has to spend Father’s Day and his birthday (tomorrow 6/16) in the hospital. It sounds like he is well taken care of though, and Terry’s brother Todd and wife Cyndi are keeping in an eye on him and reporting to family.

Looks like we’ll have another busy week ahead – Terry seems to be managing his new position nicely and I’m well settled into my new job. It’s so nice to be working again – and for a good company and good people. We are counting our blessings for sure.

On being sick and other boring stuff

It really sucks to be sick in the summertime. Seems like the sore throat, cough and stuffiness is just all the worse when accompanied by the summer heat and humidity. All I’ve been doing this whole weekend was laying about, reading (The Boleyn Inheritance), napping, and a bit of surfing the web. At least my sore throat is mostly gone, though it’s still a bit scratchy and my head is kind of in a fog.

I did manage to get to church last night and have dinner with Terry afterwards at Carrabba’s. We finally got to celebrate my new job (even though it’s been about a month) and his promotion. He’s now working as advertising coordinator and has a few guys answering to him, which is great. It came with a nice pay boost too, which certainly is nice for him. Looks like finally he’s being rewarded for his hard work!

The kids have been having a laid back summer, mostly hanging out with friends. They are happy to not have to deal with school right now of course, and are enjoying the pool. We were supposed to go to the waterpark today but since I’ve got the crud we put it off til next week. There are a few movies coming up that we want to see too – including Get Smart on June 20th.

Isn’t this the most boring blog entry ever? Sorry but I guess that’s what a weekend of bedrest will do to a blog. *Yawn* time for a little nap.

Been long time

I hate taking such long breaks between blog posts but I also hate writing about frivolous junk – though maybe you think most of what I write is frivolous anyway, ah well.

Work has been keeping me very busy, which is great of course. I am really loving my job and the people I work with are awesome. My boss is great to work for, and fun, plus he really values my opinion which is not something I’m accustomed to. Believe me, I have always had plenty of opinions, but now that I’m in a management role it’s refreshing to be included in decisions that will directly affect the business.

The kids are enjoying their time off from school though Eric will be starting summer school soon as payment for his lack of motivation for 9th grade math homework. He’s also been busy working which he seems to still enjoy. Cash is a wonderful motivator. Justin is enjoying time with a new buddy whose family actually isn’t wacko. He will be going to football day camp in a few weeks. Terry and I spend most weeknights curled up in front of the tube enjoying the AC since it’s starting to really heat up here in the desert.

Last weekend was nice since we didn’t have any real commitments – we had the neighbors over to enjoy some Zwiegle’s hots that Terry had shipped in from his friend who’s dad is one of the big muckety mucks. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a red hot (you can’t get them here!) and it was absolutely delicious. Our neighbors wholeheartedly agreed. The food was good, but the company was great – our friends are the best. We just had a great time chatting and butting heads over the classic men vs. women debate. It was good for comic relief anyhow.

Tomorrow night I’m going to see the Sex & The City movie with two girlfriends, Kathy and Lauren. I’m looking forward to a night out with the gals! I’m afraid I might be disappointed in the movie though because one of the girls I work with said she didn’t like the ending. I hate it when a movie doesn’t end the way I want it to as well (City of Angels, The Departed, etc.), but I’ll take it in stride.