An Epicurean Holiday Extravaganza!

Happy New Year to everyone! If 2023 turns out to be as fun and festive as the past few weeks have been, we are guaranteed to have a fantastic year ahead of us! Laurie and I made the most of every day of the holiday season – here’s how we turned it into an epicurean holiday extravaganza!

A few ornaments on our Christmas tree - photo by Laurie Geis

Laurie and I ate and drank our way through the 2022 holiday season in style! Last year Christmas was a bit of a blur since we were moving into our new home in Sarasota and distracted by all that goes into setting up a house and getting everything up and running. So, we made it our goal this year to make the most of the holiday season and enjoy every day leading up to Christmas and the New Year. And of course, as you would expect from us, we incorporated food, wine, and spirits into our celebrations! Here are some of the highlights from our epicurean holiday extravaganza.

• Laurie gave me one of my favorite Christmas gifts ever this year – a 24-day wine advent calendar from the Wall Street Journal wine club that included 24 different 187 ml. bottles of wines from around the world, one bottle for each day of the advent season. It was literally the gift that kept on giving from 1 – 24 December, and all the wines were fantastic as well! Going forward, any future Christmas will be a disappointment and potential disaster if don’t get a wine advent calendar to ring in the holiday season!

Empty bottles from my wine advent calendar gift from Laurie – photo by Laurie Geis

• Another highlight from the season was a pre-Christmas visit from our nephew Christopher and his beautiful bride Eugenia. They were here for a week and we enjoyed great dinners out at KOJO, our favorite restaurant in Sarasota which serves Asian-fusion food, Cassariano Italian Eatery in Lakewood Ranch, as well as some delicious dinners at home. Having our guests treat us to their version of carnitas tacos – all made from scratch – along with homemade slaw and Mexican Horchata (a drink made with rice, cinnamon, sugar, and various types of milk) was a special treat!

• We also did a “dry run” of our holiday wine tasting dinner with Christopher and Eugenia which was great fun as well. As those of you who read my blog know, one of my rules is never, ever serve a dish you haven’t made before to guests joining you for dinner. Since my menu for our holiday wine tasting dinner included many dishes I had never made before, we decided to make the newlyweds our “guinea pigs” to test out the new recipes, as well as my planned wine pairings with each. They captured the evening in a video – check it out by clicking on the link below!

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• Laurie and I also took advantage of the holidays to try some new restaurants that have recently opened in the Sarasota area. For our Lakewood Ranch neighbors and friends, we give thumbs up to Post Kitchen and Bar at UTC for an upscale dining experience that showcases creative modern American cuisine; Takos Cantina in Lakewood Ranch for great Margaritas and tasty Mexican food; The Lobster Pound and Fresh Seafood Bistro in LW for fantastic lobster rolls and the freshest stone crab claws; Blue Surf American Grill in LW for tasty contemporary cuisine; and Adolfo’s Italian Market and Pizzeria in LW for authentic NY style pizza (with the requisite dripping grease!), homemade bread and baked goods, and an eclectic Italian wine selection.

• We also had great fun hosting some of our favorite humans and wonderful neighbors for a holiday wine tasting dinner that included six courses ranging from cheese soufflés with mustard seed caviar, to butternut squash soup with cider cream, to Tuscan steak with roasted potatoes, arugula, and lemon dressing.

The “Summerville Six + 1" holiday wine tasting dinner gang!

• And finally we rung in the new year by joining all of our neighbors for a somewhat raucous New Year’s block party hosted by our good friends Matt and Kathy Mendelson! It was an absolute blast, with fantastic food, strong and stiff drinks (the best kind!), Hawaiian/ Polynesian dancers (complete with fire!), and fireworks to welcome in 2023. In fact, we had so much fun that we actually stayed awake and at the party past midnight, the first time Laurie and I have done that since we’ve been married – this retirement life is OK by me!!

Ringing in the new year in style with some of our neighbors!

And yes, we spent this past week recovering from all the festivities of the holiday season – it was exhausting! And while it’s nice to get back to our normal routine, we are already eagerly awaiting Christmas 2023 – only 353 days left!! So, how did you celebrate the holidays and New Year?! Hope you all had as much fun as we did! And cheers to each of you for a healthy and safe 2023!