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MARJORIE NOBLE-MARTIN Celebrates Her 90th
Birthday!
March 2005
Lots of balloons were properly situated in signaling the celebration of
Marjorie's 90th Birthday.
Party Animals Frank Weisl, Paul Obester and Henry! Moore.
Alexia Moore was the Chef de Cuisine and de Cave. We
opened a magnum of Mumm's Napa "21st Century Cuve" to celebrate
Marjorie's birthday.
We had a lot of sushi to enjoy with the bubbly.
Marjorie dove right in (she's not going to allow the younger whipper-snappers to
elbow her out of the way when there's sushi to be had!).
One of the younger whipper-snappers, Marjorie's niece Susan, had to ponder a
moment in making a selection.
Henry! and Paul battle each other over the Crunchy Rolls.
Sandy doesn't waste any time, either.
Meanwhile, Miranda is waiting for some sushi.
The chef was busy in the kitchen.
Alexia's menu.
Marjorie and Susan ambled over to their places at the dinner table.
The Ridge Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay was marvelously toasty and
smoky; a big, very Burgundian-styled Chardonnay.
Cinnabar's 2001 Santa Cruz Chardonnay was a mildly appley wine.
Another toast to Marjorie!
Paul and Henry!
Meanwhile, Alexia had laid waste to a whole herd of sheep.
Alexia tried to pull the wool over the eyes of the diners, saying she's cooked
the lamb for far too long...
But Paul Obester, who we think has a collection of lamb shank bones in a closet
that he's been collecting for more than 35 years, took issue with Alexia's
cooking mea culpa.
"This is cooked absolutely perfectly!" Paul told everyone.
Someone else might have seconded Paul's assertion, except we were too busy
eating...
...as you can see here.
And here.
The two vintages of Bonny Doon's Cigare Volant were a fine match for the
lamb. The 1990 was the more complex, deeper wine, with the 1999 bottle
being slightly marred by a faulty cork. Bonny Doon has since changed to a
screw-cap bottle for its Cigare Volant wines.
Someone apparently invited Miles Raymond of the movie "Sideways" to
dinner. Here he shows off a bottle of Ici/La Bas Pinot Noir.
Alexia then assembled a couple of platters of various cheeses.
Frank got busy in seconds.
So did Alexia.
The Dehlinger 1995 Pinot Noir was delicious! It had fresh cherry fruit and
a nice bit of wood.
The Ici/La Bas was from the 1993 vintage and made of Oregon grapes. It
displayed more earthy notes and some forest floor fragrances.
Both wines were quite good.
Sandy Obester.
Susan Repp.
We then arrived at the appropriate time for a birthday cake.
With San Mateo and Hillsborough Fire Departments both on "red alert,"
little did they know that Paul and Sandy simplified matters by minimizing the
number of candles.
Marjorie took care of these candles, too.
Alexia told Henry! he'll soon be 90.
The Saracco Moscato d'Asti was a superb match with the Lemon Cake.
One of our buddies is frequently inclined to burn the candle at both ends.
Bob finally joined us once he figured out where the party was being held.
Marjorie then opened some birthday gifts.
My card said I wanted a Genie to present Marjorie with a "Million
Bucks" for her birthday.
Bob presented Marjorie with a selection of half bottles of various wines.
Alexia and Henry! gifted Marjorie with a lovely plant.
Then Paul Obester decided, probably as a result of so much wine, that he could
hold an intelligent conversation with Marjorie's bird, Jamie.
Alexia elbowed Paul out of the way, saying she was more fluent in bird-talk.
I don't know if this is of any significance here, but Henry! wouldn't allow
Alexia into the car without her being seated on newspaper.
And so we concluded a wonderful evening of food, wine and dear (old) friends.
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