2024 Fall Dinner Party

Sharon and I have made it a tradition to host a fall dinner party [2022, 2021, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003]. We skipped 2020 due to the COVID pandemic. We did hold a fall dinner party Zoom cocktail hour that year, but it was a poor substitute for the real thing. Due to the Middle East trip last year followed shortly by Drew and Carmen's wedding, we skipped 2023. I have regretted skipping last year...

This year's group included the Gainsleys, Wongs, Sanborns and Larkin. Like my 50th birthday, Cindy was sick and Joe came by himself. Cindy caught Kevin's cold at the end of their Portugal and Spain trip.

Over the last ten years, it has become part of the traditional to dress in costume to match the dinner's theme. This year's theme paid homage to our Scandinavian trip. I will post more pictures over the next couple of weeks.

Sharon made a great five course dinner, including salmon, Swedish meatballs and reindeer stew dishes. I told her that it may have been the best food ever for a dinner party. The menu is here.

Sharon added a new twist this year. She put together cards talking about each course that different people read. Additionally, using an AI video creator, I generated short videos for each course that I looped on the AppleTV. We stole this last idea from our dinner at Merchant Roots.

Before dessert, we watched Dinner For One and then a Robin Williams skit about golf.

It was about 11:00 pm when we walked the Gainsleys to the front gate to catch an Uber. It was a very lovely evening.

2022 Fall Dinner Party

Sharon and I have made it a tradition to host a fall dinner party [2021, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003]. We skipped 2020 due to the COVID pandemic. We did hold a fall dinner party Zoom cocktail hour that year, but it was a poor substitute for the real thing.

In celebration of this year's trip, the theme was Greece and Turkey. While we were on the trip, we took two cooking classes: one in Turkey; and, another one in Greece. We used recipes from both classes in the menu. I probably contributed more to the cooking of the meal than anytime in the recent past. I made the filo roses on Saturday afternoon and barbecued the fish. The full menu is here.

The group included the Larkins, Gainsleys, Wongs and Janie. Over the last ten years, it has become part of the traditional to dress in costume to match the party theme. I have a great series of pictures of everyone in front of Sharon's entry way decorations that I will post in the coming weeks. Sharon did a great job decorating. Pictures of her tablescape are here.

During dessert, we watched Dinner For One. There was some clammoring for the Lonely Plant skits, but like last year I couldn't find them on the AppleTV.

It was about 11:15 pm when we walked the Larkins and the Gainsleys to the front gate to catch an Uber. It was a very nice evening.

2021 Fall Dinner Party

Sharon and I have made it a tradition to host a fall dinner party [2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003]. We skipped last year due to the COVID pandemic. We did hold a fall dinner party Zoom cocktail hour last year, but it was a poor substitute for the real thing. With the Sanborns moving to South Carolina and Janie moving to Oklahoma, we decided to go with a smaller group this year. The group included the Larkins and the Gainsleys.

With the smaller group, we used the Garden Room for dinner for the first time for a fall dinner party. Sharon is planning to use the tablescape through Thanksgiving.

The theme this year was Adventures in Oregon. While we have typically organized the fall dinner party around a trip we had taken. This year was unique. We sourced a number of the ingredients for the dinner as we traveled Oregon on our anniversary trip. This included the wine, cheese, hazelnuts and pork.

We started the evening with a blind vertical wine tasting of Anderson Family Vineyard Chardonnay. Sharon put together a great meal. It included hazelnut crusted salmon, wild mushroom soup, butternut squash ravoli and pork loin chops. The full menu is here.

After dinner, we ended up watching episode one of season one of Ted Lasso. This was followed by Dinner For One. Everyone was clammoring for the Lonely Plant skits, but I couldn't find them on the AppleTV. Like two years ago, I was got a little flatfooted trying to tee up this content.

It was just about 11 pm when we walked everyone to the front gate to catch an Uber. With the earlier 5 pm start time for the dinner, it was a long evening!

2019 Fall Dinner Party

Sharon and I have made it a tradition to host a fall dinner party [2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003]. This year, the group included the Gainsleys, Larkins, Renterias, Sanborns, Janie and Terra. After missing last year, I was very pleased to have the Larkins back at the table.

I am counting this as the twentieth year that we have given this party. The Larkins and Cindy's niece Barbie came to a dinner party in 2000. This was the first year we were in Elk Grove. I feel like that dinner was really the start of this tradition. I got to find some pictures from that dinner party. I have a strong memory of Larkin, Snipes and I wandering up to the bonus room to watch the Yankees in the World Series.

The theme this year was England. Sharon, Jack and I spent ten days in London in March. There was a wide range of costumes from the Spice Girls to Sherlock Holmes to knights of the roundtable.

We had a fantastic dinner including a scotch egg, chestnut soap, a great palate cleanser and prime rib. The menu is here. During dinner, we played the soundtrack from Downton Abbey.

After dinner, Sharon had a Lizzo dance party. Like last year, although I wasn't prepared for it, we ended up watching a version of Dinner for One that I could find on YouTube. [Note to self], I have got to better organize the videos that we have played over the last fifteen years!

With the Sanborns leaving first, the party wound down. Tiber and I walked the Gainsleys to the gate to catch an Uber about 11:30 pm. Janie and Terra helped with the dishes. By the time that they left, it was about 12:45 am.

2018 Fall Dinner Party

Sharon and I have made it a tradition to host a fall dinner party [2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003]. This year, the group included the Gainsleys, Sanborns, Janie and Terra. For the first time, we had someone cancel at the last minute [Renterias]. In the hour before the party, we scrambled to invite another couple, but failed.

This year's theme was the Roaring 20s. It was loosely based on Sharon and Janie's trip to Chicago in September. Everyone wore period costumes!

Janie and Terra made a great before dinner gin drink. We had a nice dinner including Chicago deep dish pizza and barbecued rib-eye steaks. I was relieved that the pizza turned out much better than the test pizza we did. The menu is here.

Although I wasn't prepared for it, we ended up watching a version of Dinner for One that I could find on Youtube. Playing in a golf tournament on Sunday, the Sanborns rolled early. By the time, Tiber and I walked the Gainsleys to the front gate, it was about 11:30 pm. Janie and Terra rolled right after them.

This was our 22nd wedding anniversary. It was a nice evening, but I missed the Larkins. This is the first fall dinner party that they have missed since 2009.

2017 Fall Dinner Party

Sharon and I have made it a tradition to host a fall dinner party [2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003]. This year, the group included the Gainsleys, Larkins, Renterias, Sanborns, Janie and Liz.

Sharon and I have debated when we actually started holding a formal fall dinner party. Larkin reminded me during dinner that we had one that included his niece in 2000 at the Elk Grove house...

This year's theme was the Pirates of Carmichael. It revolved around Sharon and Janie's Caribbean Criuse. Everyone wore pirate costumes!

Janie made a great before dinner rum drink. Sharon made a very nice dinner of ribs and chicken. Everyone seemed to really like the chicken and the sauce. The menu is here.

After dinner, Tiber was barking on the deck. When I walked out to see what was going on, I realized that there was a large possum sitting the tree watching us!

Although we didn't show any videos, it was a late night. Liz and the Sanborns rolled a little before 11 pm, but the Larkins, Gainsleys and Renterias stayed until after midnight. By the time, Tiber and I walked them to the front gate and toured the neighborhood, it was after 1 am before we were in bed.

Sharon and Janie thought that the group was more subdued this year. I am not sure that I felt that way. We are all just getting older.

2016 Fall Dinner Party Day 2

Sea Ranch is one of my favorite places in the world to run. Heading out about 8 am, I ended up running from the Vista Del Mar house to the Sea Ranch Lodge and back. In total, I covered almost 8 miles. A map of our bike ride is here.

Phil made an early lunch about 11 am for the group at the Kyuka house, including steak and chicken. Afterwards, we got organized for a bike ride. Phil and the Renterias rented bikes like we did in February, while the Heringers, Larkins and Gainsleys all dragged bikes with them. In total, we had nine people on the bike ride.

We road north through Sea Ranch for about 4 miles and then turned back around. Sharon dropped off at this point. The rest of us rode all the way to the Sea Ranch Lodge. The group stopped for a drink at the bar in the lodge.

I headed back by myself to get ready to help Sharon with dinner. I enjoyed the chance to put my head down and roll on the way back.

In total, we covered about 17.5 miles. It was a great ride. I was surprised by the amount of dirt trail there was going south towards the lodge.

Sharon and I got cleaned up for dinner and dragged everything over to the Kyuka house. It had a much better kitchen.

Sharon made a great Flemish dinner. The menu is here! The main dishes were mussels followed by rabbit. We had a cake that I picked up on Thursday and we dragged over to the coast; the cake was very, very good.


I had brought Alexa with us on the trip. The surprise of the weekend was how much of a kick everyone got out of requesting songs. After a 8 mile run and a 17 mile bike ride, I started to fade by the end of the evening.

Eventually, we wandered back to the Vista Del Mar house. Rod and Julie and Sharon and I finished the night in the hot tub. It was a very late night...

2015 Fall Dinner Party

Sharon and I have made it a tradition to host a fall dinner party [2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003]. This year, the group included the Gainsleys, Sanborns, Larkins, Renterias, Janie and Liz.

The theme of this year's dinner revolved around Sharon and Janie's trip to Europe.

The menu is here.

During dessert, we asked everyone to guess the number of pumpkins in the house. The guesses ranged from Phil's at 121 to Rod's at 285!

It has become a tradition to finish the night with Dinner for One and the three Saturday Night Live Lonely Island videos with Justin Timberlake.

For the first time, we had the party after daylight savings time and, as a result, started the party at 5:30 pm. It was 11:30 pm when Sharon and I walked the Larkins and Gainsleys to the front gate to catch a cab.

Next year, the fall dinner party will be held at Sea Ranch. Sharon and I will be celebrating our twentieth wedding anniversary!

2014 Fall Dinner Party

Sharon and I have made it a tradition to host a fall dinner party [2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003]. This year, the group included the Gainsleys, Sanborns, Larkins, Renterias and Janie. John Cunningham came late with Cole after Cole's water polo game.

The theme of this year's dinner revolved around our trip to New Orleans. The menu is here.

It has become a tradition to finish the night with Dinner for One.

It was a late night. It was after 12:30 am when Tiber, Sharon, I walked the Larkins and Gainsleys to the front gate to catch a cab.

Janie and Sharon at the Fall Dinner Party

2013 Fall Dinner Party

Sanborns at the Fall Dinner Party

2013 Fall Dinner Party

Gainsleys at the Fall Dinner Party

2013 Fall Dinner Party

Renterias at the Fall Dinner Party

2013 Fall Dinner Party

Larkins at the Fall Dinner Party

2013 Fall Dinner Party

2013 Fall Dinner Party

Sharon and I have made it a tradition to host a fall dinner party [2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003]. This year, the group included the Gainsleys, Sanborns, Larkins, Renterias and Janie. This is the first time that we have included the Renterias.

It was a very busy day. Jack played baseball in the morning and then went to the St. Francis Homecoming in the evening.

The theme of this year's dinner revolved around our trip to H@waii. It may have been the most we have ever incorporated a theme. We gave people leis when they showed up, the Sanborns made Mai Tais, there were tropical flowers on the table and Hawaiian music was playing. Sharon served an excellent Pacfic Rim based dinner. For the first time, we served fish as a main course. The menu is here.



It has become a tradition to finish the night with Dinner for One and three SNL Justin Timberlake videos. This year we also watched What Does the Fox Say and a couple of youtube videos from the Petersen Shootout.

It was about 11:20 pm when Sharon and I walked the Larkins and Gainsleys to the front gate to catch a cab.

2012 Fall Dinner Party Menu

A Return To Italy
October 27, 2012


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Antipasta
~~~
Peach Bellini
Or
Bellini-tini

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Olive Caper Bruschetta
~~~
2011 Le Fontane Bardolino

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Italiana Caprese Salad
~~~
2010 Orvieto Classico

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Spaghetti Carbonara
~~~
2011 Scalabrone Rosato

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Rib of Prime, Tarte Al’Oignon, Fresh Green Beans
˜˜˜
2008 Fontodi Chianti Classico Riserva

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Panna Cotta
~~~
Limoncello

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2012 Fall Dinner Party

Sharon and I have made it a tradition to host a fall dinner party [2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003]. This year, the group included the Gainsleys, Sanborns, Larkins, Deborah and her date [Mike]. Janie was invited, but was delayed getting back from an east coast trip. This was the first time that the Larkins and Deborah have been to the new house. Although we usually have the party in early October, we ended up switching it to the last weekend of the month due to Homecoming.

Sharon made a great dinner of Prime Rib. The full menu is here. Struggling with a couple of things, including one of the rotisseries, I didn't take as many pictures as previous years. Typically, I try to get pictures of everyone, but I failed this year. I also planning to take a picture of each course, but also failed in that regard.

Surprisingly, we ended up watching Dinner for One and two SNL Justin Timberlake videos after dinner. We had not planned to show the videos this year, but got several requests.

I was just after midnight when Sharon and I walked the Larkins and Gainsleys to the front gate to catch a cab.

2011 Fall Dinner Party Menu

2011 Fall Menu

October 8, 2011

Mediterranean Olives-Citrus

Marinade Salted Breadsticks-Fig Jam

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Mojitos

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Honey Roasted Pear Salad

with Thyme-Verjus Dressing

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King Estate

Pinot Gris

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Roasted Beet Soup

with Crème Fraiche

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2009 Meiomi Pinot Noir

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Kiwi Sorbet

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Champagne Floater

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Osso Bucco, Mushroom Risotto

Steamed Green Beans

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2006 Opus One

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“Just An” Intermission

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Birthday Celebration

Maple-Gingerbread Layer Cake

with Salted Maple Caramel Sauce

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2010 Eos tears of dew Moscato

2011 Fall Dinner Party

Sharon and I have made it a tradition to host a fall dinner party [2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003]. The group included the Gainsley's, Sanborn's, Larkin's, Deborah and Janie this year. We were able to work the schedule this year to get the Larkin's back; they have not made it since 2008.

Sharon made a great dinner of Ossobuco. This is one of my favorites dishes. I will post the full menu in the next couple of days.

After the entree, we watched a couple of Justin Timberlake videos in the bonus room. We celebrated Janie's birthday with presents and cake.

We ended the evening in the backyard. It was after 11:30 p.m. by the time the party started to break up.

Deborah and John