Fireworks For My Birthday

The holidays are full of good food and wine, and I've been too damned busy to write about any of it. If I'm not eating and drinking, I'm recovering. Or shopping. The day after Thanksgiving, one of my best friends flew over from England for a much-needed escape, and we spent five lovely days eating, drinking and shopping.

Two days after she departed, I celebrated my 55th birthday. Yes, I am now eligible for the senior citizen discounts at both IHOP and Sigel's Liquor Store (on Tuesdays only). Three guesses which one I'm hitting up first. And this year, the City of Murphy, Texas provided fireworks for my birthday! Unfortunately, I had to miss the weekly wine tasting at Parker Wine Cellars in order to make it home in time, but, well, fireworks don't happen on EVERY birthday!

Oh, okay, the fireworks weren't FOR my birthday, but they did occur ON my birthday. Murphy Maize Days, our October vendor fair, got rained out so they rescheduled the fireworks for December 2, my birthday, which pleased me enormously. I've loved fireworks ever since I lived in Anaheim, California, close enough to Disneyland that we could watch the summer fireworks from the end of our street.

In celebration of both the fireworks and my birthday, my friends Bonnie and Margaret came over with a few bottles of wine. We sampled prosecco, moscato, and 7 Deadly Zins. The prosecco and moscato were an experiment, and we all agreed that Barefoot Bubbly was a better sparkling wine for the price. However, it was all wonderful: friends, fireworks, and a toast to my new year.

Because of family obligations, tonight was my "official" birthday dinner (see, I managed to celebrate all week in one form or fashion!), which I chose to have at Urban Crust, a lovely restaurant in historic downtown Plano, Texas. The menu is simple yet fresh and innovative: wood-fired pizza, interesting appetizers (mussels in tomatillo sauce -- YUM), and a daily special, which today was Almond Encrusted Flounder with a Lemon Butter Sauce. It was absolutely delicious.

My wine of choice was their special: a 2005 Shardana, Sardinia Carignan-Syrah. It was a complex wine with hints of fruit and dried flowers and a finish of vanilla and black pepper. I savored every sip. Yes, it was too heavy with the fish, but it was a truly perfect wine, so instead of having a wine that complemented the meal, I enjoyed the wine and I enjoyed the meal. It's my birthday. I can do what I want.