Good things

Not just big, but colossal-sized ups to Casey and Mary for a yet another killer dinner party this past Saturday. In the time I’ve known them, it always makes me smile when I hear them say “Hey, we’re thinking of having people over for dinner.” I could gush at the greatest lengths about how much I dig Kerry’s family and friends. Something seems to click pretty well with everyone, especially her brothers and sister-in-law, and, of course, Cousin Matt. We were on maybe a month of seeing each other when Kerry set up a movie night at the Detroit Film Theater for all of us to meet up and see this.
I was kind of nervous because I knew she had two brothers, but she had only really let on that the three of them got along well. I, however, had no idea what to expect. It sucks being the new person in the group because your vulnerability seems to rage within. It’s probably nothing to the other people, but my whole life I wondered exactly where I fit in. And if you look at the people who say I’m their friend, that’s a quite a bit of places to fit in. So, I was nervous as fuck because I thought if I said something stupid or out of context or just came off like a boob, I’d, I don’t know, have a hard time earning their respect after that. But the movie was a fascinating story and the five of us went out after it to the Majestic for pitchers of beer and a general sense of mirth that seemed kind of organic. We laughed and goofed on matters ranging from Toughskin jeans to old-timey Kmart brand Traxx tennis shoes. And we’ve become a pretty cohesive group since. We’ve done holidays together, parties, random get-togethers and I’ve never once walked away or drove home thinking “Man, that kind of pissed me off what Rian said.” Just doesn’t work that way.
So, when the order is to get together for some chow and drinks, it would have to be a lobotomy to be any more of a no-brainer. We hooked up some Casanova-style margaritas while throwing down some of these chorizo and black bean empanadas. They ruled.

Next up was some tortilla soup, just spicy enough to be noticeable but not enough to fuck you up.

A salad followed before the main course, which could not have been labor-intensive or anything.

Cornish game hens, black bean cakes, sweet potatoes and guac. Throw in a bunch of beer, wine and tequila, and this key lime mousse for dessert with a stick of white chocolate in it

and it was definitely a night of pure, uncut decadence. Plus, Casey and Mary just have a lot of really cool stuff around their house.

They take the best vacations and their travels are reflected in the way their home is laid out and decorated. The flowers were beautiful.

We look forward to not only returning the favor, but getting back to our Dinner With Friends program we started last fall. The move and the winter has been taxing, but we’re going to get back to it, probably with a Sunday brunch featuring the Hauns, the Taylors and the Corbetts.

The Chicken has been quite lax as of late, just have been kind of lazy with seeking out interesting images to preserve or q uality words to write. Kerry and I leave for Toronto tomorrow for 3 nights and 2 days of getting-the-hell-out-of-townness. Look for us to splurge on choice dinners, massages, requisite shopping, random loafing and probably more booze than we are used to. We had a really good time the last time we went to Toronto and we hope to outdo ourselves. Fuck yes.