With Friends Like Me

Marybeth is my very good friend. She gives me champagne.

Coincidence?

On all kinds of occasions, she makes sure I have champagne. Say, for lunch. Or, dinner. Or, happy hour. Or, parties. She's my dealer.

So, when The Last Day for Rob Rhino launched, she gave me this fabulous bottle of champagne to celebrate. That's just the kind of girl she is.

Hubby and I live in Santa Barbara about a week a month and in Denver the rest of the time. Marybeth delivered this very thoughtful bubbly to me the last time we were in Santa Barbara. 

We brought it home to Denver in anticipation of having dinner with Marybeth when she came to town, and sharing this generous, and thoughtful, gift with its giver.

She will be here for dinner tomorrow.

A few days ago, hubby said, "I put that champagne in the fridge so its chilled when Marybeth gets here."

As you might already know, the rest of this story is clearly my husband's fault. This weekend, I remembered I still had some of those cherries I told you about last week. The one's from the ice cream. They were just sitting there, minding their own business, in their brandied, sugared, perfection.

What's a girl to do but make cherry almond muffins for breakfast?

Which is exactly what I did. Such was my zeal, I made them before I even had any coffee, so no way would I have remembered to take photos of the process. But here they are...glorious, delectable, bites of nirvana.

After making the muffins, there were a handful of cherries left, so I put them back in the fridge. 

What did I see?

Yep. That chilled champagne that I might, or might not, have saved for dinner tomorrow with my good friend Marybeth.



I worried what would happen to my straggler cherries. It's not like it's right to waste food. Not in this economy.

My hand accidentally brushed the champagne in the fridge. Right by the cherries. 

So.

This is one of our champagne flutes with a couple of those cherries nestled comfortably in the bottom, gently swimming in the champagne...that might, or might not, have come from Marybeth.

Like you wouldn't have done the same thing.

I can't even begin to tell you how superb this concoction tasted. The nose tickling, crisp champagne with those brandy and sugar soaked cherries...now brandy, sugar, and champagne soaked cherries.

I might, or might not, have had more than one glass.



See?

Doesn't this look like a match made in gastronomic heaven?

I can tell you, my friends...there's worse things that can happen to you on a Saturday morning.





This might, or might not, be all that's left for my good friend Marybeth.