Fun, Friends and of course Food

Sunday was a big day. In the morning I was the guest Chef at Otto's and in the evening we were invited for Sunday night supper at the home of Marilyn and E.P. Harris. It doesn't get much better than that.
Sunday was Paul Weckman's 28th Birthday. He is the owner and chef at Otto's, 521 Main St. in Covington. I have written about Otto's many times and I now feel like part of the family.
I messed up his kitchen once last year making a JP Ruben Sandwich and he was nice enough to invite me to return. This time I put together a Veggie Frittata and what I called Viennese Hash Browns. The food seemed to be a big success, as I produce 16 pieces of Frittata and we were sold out before noon. The hours are 10 to 2 so who knows what we might have "coned" people into eating if we had made more. It was run as "Paul's Birthday Plate" and maybe the merchandising helped the sale, although from the comments I believe the dish would make it on it's own.
The evening was outstanding. The Harris's have a very unique home which has been renovated to compliment their lives and personalities. It is a treat just to be there and see what they have done, both inside and out.
Anyone who is in any way exposed to food in Cincinnati knows of Marilyn Harris. Not only is she an outgoing, knowledgeable, educated and experienced food authority but her sense of humor and patience make it a perfect package. To put it simply she is a pleasure and we are please to call her a friend.
She had a "simple, informal Sunday night supper" in her kitchen. I'd hate for her to formally entertain. The food, which she prepared, and the wine was marvelous as was the ambiance from setting to informality.
Out of her kitchen came fresh shrimp, with a wonderful summer sauce and rolls of Italian ham and Mozzarella. This was on the counter with several bottle of excellent wine. After we were seated she served a crisp green salad with grapes and candied pecans topped by a lovely Lime and Walnut oil dressing. The main course was marinated and grilled Lamb Tenderloin accompanied with sliced green asparagus, in a light butter sauce and a beautiful Potato Galette. Dessert was just the right amount of Chocolate ice cream and Raspberry Sorbet topped with berries and accented with Quantro. A plate of Belgium Cookies made the rounds with the individual servings.
Wine, conversation and even a little gossip flowed freely between the 6 of us at the table. We were the first to leave, after 4 hours, so the Sunday night supper may still be in progress.