Nick ‘n’ Heather

…..not Nick

So we had the old company party this weekend and it was a good time. First off Heather arrived Thursday night because she did not have school on Friday. I was out in Hutchinson at Tim’s gym Thursday night teaching jujitsu. I got back an hour or so before she did and it was just enough time to pick up quick before she got here.

Friday I worked and Heather slept. I came home to find her playing Mario over lunch. After I finished up work we went grocery shopping because I hadn’t been to the store in about a month.

Saturday was a busy day. We started out by driving to Cokato for Black belt class. It was pretty nice having Black Belt class less than an hour away. So we kicked around for a little but we couldn’t stay for the whole day because we had to come back and get ready for the big ball. It was time for Magenic’s holiday party and it was a blast.

It started out with some free valet parking and we got in the door there was an a capella singing group in the lobby. We wondered our way to the bathrooms by mistake but quickly made our way back to the main room. There was an open bar so I got all the free pop and Heather worked through about a dozen Shirley Temples. We started putting our tickets in for the prizes we wanted to win before the dinner. The food was great and because I can’t remember it all, here was the menu:

• PASSED APPETIZERS
  • Roasted Crimini Mushrooms
    • stuffed with four cheeses, spinach, and roasted red pepper
  • Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus
    • with lemon mascarpone filling
  • Thai Chicken Skewers
    • with a rice vinegar glaze
• STATION 1 – APPETIZERS AND SALADS
  • Artichoke Ramekin
    • the world-famous manna with garlic toasts
  • Chicken & Vegetable Pan-Seared Potstickers
    • with soy dipping sauce
  • Ciabatta Bruschetta
    • on house-made bread with fresh mozzarella, yellow tomatoes,red peppers, and fresh basil with a balsamic drizzle
  • Salade Sauvage
    • field greens in a light vinaigrette with crumbled bleu cheese, fresh pear, candied walnuts, and raisins
  • Caesar Salad
    • hearts of romaine, house-made croutons, and shaved parmesan in a garlic and egg dressing
• STATION 2 – MEATS AND POTOATOES
  • Roast Beef Carving Station
    • with au jus and sauce béarnaise
  • Chicken Marsala
    • with roasted garlic orzo and green beans in a crimini mushroom and madiera demi-glace
  • Sautéed Salmon
    • with a parmesean and fine herb crust in a cherry tomato hollandaise
  • Mashed Potato Bar
    • with various additions including cheese, chives, bacon, butter, and sour cream
• STATION 3 – PASTAS
  • Roasted Chicken and Smoked Mozzarella Ravioli
    • in a Napolitana sauce of crushed tomatoes, fresh basil, garlic, and olive oil
  • Cheese Tortelini
    • in a robust red sauce with mild Italian sausage
  • Mushroom Penne
    • in a gorgonzola cream sauce with toasted pine nuts and raisins
• MINI - DESSERTS
  • a chef’s selection of various tartlets and other surprises

So good stuff all around, neither Heather or I won anything in the early drawings but we were soon lost in the blackjacks tables. It was pretty fun, not serious gambling, just playing some cards.

After the cards, at the end of the night, we exchanged in our chips for some more tickets and dumped them in the prizes we wanted to win. I am getting tired of typing so I’ll leave it up to Heather to list some of the prizes and I came up with squat while Heather won a $100 gift card.

Tim came over Sunday and we all relaxed and took it easy. Heather and I cooked a pizza for lunch and Tim came over in the afternoon. It was a pretty dang good weekend, all in all.

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