Cigar, Cocktails, and Then Dinner

 Sunday, May 24, 2026

Cigar and an Old Fashioned in the back yard this afternoon. As we got closer to dinner Dale joined me. He had a glass of wine. 

Beautiful day to sit in the yard. It was warm enough to feel like summer rather than spring. We were gonna use our new grill and make some brats we got just a week ago. They were fully packaged and in the fridge, however, when Dale opened them up the stank that was released was so nasty there was no way we were gonna eat 'em. And, they were still a few days away from the best-if-used-by day too! Dale had just gone to the store to pick up the fixings he was gonna make with the brats and, understandably, didn't feel like going back. However, he did grill up the asparagus for tonights dinner and we ate it as an appetizer. We ordered Chinese from our neighborhood take-out place. It was delicious. We'll pick up some more brats tomorrow. 

Fall Golden Hour Kickoff 2024

 Saturday, November 23, 2024

Before dinner cigar.

Before dinner cocktail. 

Dale's famous baked pasta and broccoli.

We watched Desk Set. Cozy night in.

Cookin' In Arizona

Thursday, July 20, 2023

Dale and I are in Arizona staying at Dianne and John's place while they're away on vacation. For cocktail hour tonight I bought a pre-made Mai Tai and some pineapple chunks for garnish. Also, some limes and a little extra rum just in case. 

It turned out great. Didn't need to add anything else other than the pineapple and an orange slice. 

It was delicious. I took it out and sat poolside whilst Dale did a little swimming. 

Still hot out but it was comfortable at the shady end of the pool.

For dinner we decided to prepare a pasta dish we used to make a long time ago. Dale fried off some asparagus.

I boiled some bow tie pasta. 

Dale cut the tails off a pound of shrimp. 

Sauted the shrimp. 

Combined it all although we didn't quite use all the pasta.

Added some Caesar dressing. 

I made salad.

It all turned out quite smashingly. 

Cigar time after dinner. 

According to the 10 p.m. news we hit 119 today. Yikes.

Back to Standard Time - The Golden Hour

Sunday, November 7, 2021

Back to Central Standard Time. It's nice to have that extra hour back. Dale went on a bike ride and I sat out back with a couple of different little cigars. The first was a Macanudo and the second a Romeo y Julieta (pictured above). Both were nice. 

After his bike ride Dale joined me in the back yard for cocktails with music. 

We made a chicken pot pie for dinner and Dale made some Brussels sprouts with bacon and maple syrup. 

And had pumpkin pie for dessert. 

Fall-like dinner even though it doesn't feel like fall outside, at least for November. 

Dinner with Mike & Charisse

Sunday, May 30, 2021

Dale and I had Mike and Charisse over for dinner. We all sat in the back yard and Mike and I smoked cigars. He loves these La Gloria Cubanas. As do I. So nice to catch up. Dale hasn't seen Charisse in over a year. We all mentioned how nice it is to see each other now that we're vaccinated and this Covid-19 pandemic seems to be winding down. 

We ordered Chinese from Xin Wong over on Nicollet and watched Red Garters. Mikey loved it. 

Dinner and a Movie

Saturday, May 15, 2021

Dale grilled tonight. We're both very aware of how little time he has left before heading up to Madeline for a couple months and are trying to experience the kind of weather Minneapolis gets in late May and early June before he heads off. Let me say we were both so easily spoiled from his not having to go up last year due to Covid. 

Anyway, we sat out in the backyard and enjoyed the lovely afternoon while having cocktails. I indulged in a cigar as well. 

We had hamburgers and asparagus on the grill and some leftover potato salad. 

During dinner we watched Send Me No Flowers starring Doris and Rock. Dale and I both fell asleep about halfway through it. We were just THAT tired. Ah well, we'll finish it tomorrow...

Cocktail Hour, Cigar, Dinner, and a Movie

Saturday, May 1, 2021

Cocktail with Dale in the backyard. I had a cigar. 

Very lovely day today. It actually got up to 88 degrees. Dale grilled hamburgers for dinner. We also had potato salad and a broccoli salad from Kowalski's. 

We watched Grease which I haven't seen all the way through in a number of years. 

Mom took me so see it back in the summer of '78 just after my 6th grade year. She thought it was a little raunchy. It's tame by today's standards but this viewing made me realize how much went over my head as a kid.

Overall lovely day today. So nice to feel warmth and spend some extended time sitting in the yard. 

Mikey

Saturday, April 17, 2021

Mike texted early this afternoon and asked if I wanted to get together for a cigar. I said yes because we've been trying to set something up for a few weeks without things working out and also because it's supposed to be pleasant into the late afternoon. 

We sat out in the back yard and listened to jazz. It's been 6 months since we've seen each other and it was fun to catch up. I asked him if he wanted to stay for dinner and GMN and he accepted. 

Dale made chili and we watched The Women. 

The Golden Hour - Beef Stroganoff (Or Maybe Not)

Saturday, October 17, 2020

MEA weekend. Dale and I were supposed to go to Madeline Island but decided not to. Mostly because Dale's workload this past week was much higher than expected but also somewhat due to the wind advisories for tonight and tomorrow night. We didn't want to risk the possibility of not getting off the Island. 

The plan for the night was a big dinner with cocktails; a real Golden Hour. 

We stopped by South Lyndale Liquors to pick up some wine for Dale but also some rum, falernum, curaçao, and orgeat for my polynesian cocktail. 

T The plan was to have beef stroganoff in the crock-pot tonight. I was so excited. We picked up everything we need to prepare it at Kowalski's. We also picked up pumpkin pie for dessert. Can't wait for ALL of it!

After shopping it was time for a cigar in the yard.  

Athena joined me while Dale took a lengthy walk. 

We had planned on making beef stroganoff tonight in the crock pot. I intended to start the assembly process  at around 4:00 p.m. so we could let the crock pot do its thing and then eat around 7:00. After his walk, around 3 p.m., Dale double checked the recipe and informed me that it was an 8+ hour cook. Boy, did I feel bad because that meant we wouldn't have time to make beef stroganoff tonight. Dale was understanding and offered to run back to the store and get some chicken thighs, broccoli, and a bun as I was still working on my cigar. It's been so long since we've made this particular beef stroganoff recipe that I must have gotten the prep time confused with a turkey noodle hot dish crock pot recipe I make much more frequently which only has a 3 hour total prep/cook time. In the last couple of years Dale's really taken to make his modified version Julia Child's beef bourginoine which gets the meat super tender. 

When I was done with my stogie Dale and I came inside for cocktails. I made my standard tiki cocktail which includes light rum, dark rum, curaçao, falernum, orgeat, and club soda. I used the tiki mug I got for free from the liquor store for buying a bottle of Plantation rum. I love this mug. It fits perfectly in my hand and feels good to hold.

We also had some appetizers - Triscuits  and Swiss cheese. Not real high falutin' but nummy none the less. 

Music was Vegas Baby Too from the Ultra-Lounge series. 

Dinner prep was easy enough. Dale got the thighs and vegetables ready and I got the bun buttered and in the oven at the appropriate time. 

It all turned out great. 

Movie for the night was Murder at the Gallop. We've been on a Margaret Rutherford/Miss Marple bender lately. We watched Murder, She Said last week and Murder Ahoy a week or so before that. 

Pumpkin pie for dessert. Dale and I have a Target run planned for tomorrow and he insists we're going to get an electric mixer for making whipped cream. Considering we've used a hand-held one for 27 years I have to say I whole heartedly agree with him.