Happy Solstice!

With all the Christmas activities taking place this time of year, most people barely pay any attention to the winter solstice, which is when the northern hemisphere is most inclined away from the sun. In effect, the winter solstice is the shortest day and the longest night of the year. And in pre-Christian times, it was also the time when the Germanic festival of Yule was celebrated. We too decided to celebrate the solstice with a fabulous night of dinner and drinks.


Tim and James toast to the winter soltice at Orange's Citrus City Grille. (12/21/05)

The destination of choice was The Citrus City Grille, in the heart of old towne Orange. Although a tad on the expensive side, it's one of our favorite places to go when we want to do something a little more special. I really recommend the ahi poke — tuna sashimi in soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger and cilantro, served with wonton ribbons. It was fantastic, as always.

For the entree, Tim got an excellent monk fish with risotto. I had scallops wrapped in prosciuto on a bed of angel hair pasta. And Everett got some sort of ravioli. We closed the night by sharing the chef's specialty chocolate soufflé, which was sinfully delicious.


Everett opened his bottle of Dolce, one of the most celebrated sweet wines. (12/21/05)

We closed the night back at our home where Everett shared with us his bottle of Dolce 2001 Late Harvest Dessert Wine. It's produced by the only winery in North America that is solely devoted to producing a single, late harvest wine — one of the few wineries in the world willing to make such a commitment. It's not cheap. You're probably talking $50 a bottle or more (and that's for the smaller, 375ml bottle), but it was worth every penny. Thanks for sharing Everett!