Christmas Tree

We got our Christmas tree yesterday! It's a pinyon tree from the mountains. Pinyons in many areas have become much more abundant than they were in the past and that has led to a lot of die-off due to a pine beetle. Ours was probably taken from an area that needed thinning. The state forests offer permits for cutting trees, but we didn't think the Focus could get into the backroad areas where you can cut trees so we got ours from someone who had already done the cutting and transport. Jake and I managed to agree on a decorating strategy after looking at ribbons for a half hour at the Hobby Lobby. We also came up with an ingenious tree holder since everyone was sold out of Christmas tree stands. The trunk is set into one of those orange Home Depot buckets filled with rocks. The orange bucket is then inside a big plastic tree pot. The real test will come on Sunday when the cats are back from Petco.

Last night we celebrated our 3rd anniversary by dining at The Compound, a restaurant on Canyon Road. It is in an old adobe house that has modern windows set into the deep walls. The food was excellent. We started with a glass of New Mexican Gruet champagne and tuna tartare flavored with preserved lemons and a tiny drop of caviar. The fall vegetable salad was a unique blend of yellow beets, tangerine pieces, radishes and fennel with a few watercress and frisee leaves. A very nice combination of textures and flavors. I had a main course of scallops in a very rich cognac cream sauce with chanterelles. The chanterelles were a little overpowered by the sauce, but it was a great way to prepare scallops as a winter dish. Jake had the salmon accompanied by risotto and apple. It was supposed to have artichoke, but neither of us could taste it. Still, the salmon was perfectly cooked. For dessert we had a delicious molten chocolate cake served with bitter orange ice cream. Here's to many more anniversaries!