Seafood Casserole

Eating the last few days has been intense to say the least. I really should have reviewed each meal individually but I felt with all the people around and the hosts trying their best to make sure everyone had what they needed, the last thing they would have wanted was me in their face with a camera and notepad. So I'll just touch on what we had and finish off with the one that seemed the least disturbing for a photograph and that was oh-so-good. It all started off with an amazing spinach and cheese lasagna that my sister-in-law-to-be Josée made using her mother's special tomato sauce. The next day we ate a heart-warming traditional Christmas dinner (on boxing day) put together by my wonderful husband and his mother. They know how to cook everything to perfection and everyone couldn't help but have seconds! Day 3 consisted of cranberry and brie pastry bites, bacon wrapped bocconcini with a cherry tomato and balsamic, olive oil and pepper glaze to start, followed by a very fun and delicious chinese meat, chicken and mushroom fondue with every dipping sauce known to man, again put together by Josée and served with a couscous salad, rotini salad and ceasar salad. And day 4 wrapped up with the grand finale, my mother's seafood casserole. This casserole is rich not only in taste but also in price. She fills this casserole with massive chunks of lobster, crab, scallops, shrimp and filet of sole. My mother did a wonderful job this year of bringing the maritimes to me. There are two things I miss from New Brunswick, the beaches and the lobster. On day one, I failed to mention above that my mother also brought in 7 market size lobster for us to snack on. She, my husband and I seemed to be the only ones all over it, so we lucked out, and pigged out. As soon as she's back home she'll be sending me the seafood casserole recipe and i'll post it right away. YUMMY!

I'd also like to make mention of some of the wonderful wines and ports we had. Every single one below is worth every penny.

- Sterling Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

- Frescobaldi Nipozzano Chianti Riserva 2005 Sangiovese from Italy

- Big House Red 2004 California Red Wine from the Bonny Doon Vineyards

- Lustau East India Solera Sherry from Spain

- Dow Vintage Port 1994