Last night was special.  Aaron has been home a week from Arizona, and he wanted to make dinner for our family (including extended members Ben, Laura and Michael).  Since he is actually the best chef in the family, it was a pleasure to see him in action (with great supporting dishes by Barbara) and to savor the results.

The menu was relatively straightforward:

• Spanish-style marinated mushrooms (by Barbara from Claudia Roden)

• pan-roasted brussels sprouts, roasted pear slices, pancetta, and whole grain mustard (by Aaron, after we described the dish from our experience at Cava)

• fettuccine with a sauce of pureed artichoke hearts, roasted butternut squash and red peppers , plus roasted asparagus (all Aaron)

• salad of lettuce, endive, walnuts, sliced honey crisp apples, dried cranberries, and goat cheese, all with an orange vinaigrette

• and a delightful new Stuffed Medjool Dates recipe (created by Barbara)

I’ll have to dig out the wine bottles to provide that litany.  Here are some more photos, courtesy of Ben’s artistry.