Spiedini, Leeks Vinaigrette, lots o' good wine

It is such a treat to still adore my husband after all these years; in fact, I adore him even more all the time. But I digress from dinner. ;) T grilled the shrimp after I tossed them together in a Mardi Gras confetti-like mixture of purple basil, parsley, breadcrumbs, salt, pepp and olive oil. They were lovely, and I made leeks vinaigrette for a side. Also lovely. I just looove leeks. They are so good for you and also so flavorful and easy to deal with. Braise them? Sure. Chop them for a confit? Sure. Mix with goat cheese in something/anything? Please.

We finally ate outside on our deck that, yes, was finally completed properly! The temp dipped just enough to ward off all mosquitoes, and T's outdoor speakers add so much out there. We drank a bottle of Grgich Zin which was woody enough to trick you from guessing Zin but peppery enough to make you think twice about that guess and just so nice all around. It went well with the rosemary skewers in the shrimp.

I didn't get around to making the pear-rosemary danish I wanted to for dessert, but I did recall that we still had Reina de Saba in the freezer and who doesn't enjoy a chocolate-almond cake at any time? It was perfect.