Gifts From the Heart

My dear friend Priscilla, whom I have known since I was 12, had a birthday.  We have known each other most of our lives, so birthdays are most special when we just get together and have a good time enjoying each other’s company.  But this time, I made her day really special.  I made her gifts, and they all came from the heart, and to us, those are always the best kinds of gifts.   Everything I gave her I made especially for her.  Priscilla loves to cook and appreciates good food and wine just like I do.  I made her the lavender truffles, Time for Truffles although she did not know that at the time I posted about them.  They were a big hit.  I also bottled the wine as well.  The wine came from our favorite winery here in Colorado, InVINtions, A Creative Winery, located in Greenwood Village, down in the Southern Denver Metro area.   It was one of their red blends, but we bottled it and it is our label (if you look closely, it is my dog Vinnie on the label, also enjoying his glass of wine).  I also painted this fun whimsical picture for Priscilla as well.  My creativity has been blossoming in many different areas lately.  There was definitely a theme of wine and chocolate going on; two of my favorite things.

‘We had a girls’ night out, since our husbands went out on their own too.  This doesn’t happen too much anymore, so we took full advantage of our girls’ night out and had a great time.  After Priscilla opened her presents, we went our for dinner to a fun Cuban restaurant in nearby Louisville, CO.  The restaurant was called Coabana, and you can contact them at Coabana.net.  Neither of us was hungry enough for a full dinner, so we chose a fabulous selection of tapas and sangria.

Even though we thought we were dining light, and split everything, there was still a ton of food. Because it was all so delicious, of course, we had to eat as much of it as we could.  From left to right, we had shrimp ceviche with avocados and pickled onions, served with grilled plantains or tostones; croquettas de pescado or fish croquettes; lamb empanadas with a roasted red pepper and habanero sauce and chips and salsa.  The atmosphere was fun and festive and very colorful.  It was like a little bit of Havana right here in the North Denver Metro area.  I really recommend Coabana.  The food is traditional Cubano style food.  The atmosphere was fun and colorful.  And the service was very good and very friendly.  You can tell by the smile on Priscilla’s face that we had a very enjoyable evening and dinner, and I hope she had a very happy birthday too.

Author: ajeanneinthekitchen

I have worked in the restaurant and catering industry for over 35 years. I attended 2 culinary schools in Southern California, and have a degree in culinary arts from the Southern California School of Culinary Arts, as well as a few other degrees in other areas. I love to cook and I love to feed people. View all posts by ajeanneinthekitchen