May 27th - Mexicana!

Again, I'm late in posting the happenings of Cafe Davis last week. My apologies. On Saturday, May 27th, we celebrated the country of Mexico. A bit late perhaps for Cinco de Mayo, but a fiesta nonetheless. The guest list included Karyl Davis, Ed Lee, Steve Herro, Alicia Decker, Dan Trier, Leslie Black, Jennifer Pennington, Dely Kotlan, and Gail Anthony. Here's a quick run-down of how we know these folks: Ed is an assistant debate coach at Emory and a co-conspirator with Mike for getting into trouble. They're in Kansas City together this week - raising a ruckus, no doubt. Karyl is Ed's partner, and an attorney here in Atlanta. Steve is a graduate student at GSU with the misfortune of having a desk next to Mike's. Alicia is a grad student in my department at Emory, and a friend of Steve's. Leslie is a friend from Athens that we know through a different circle of friends who all paradoxically attended Erskine College. Dan is her fiance, and he and Leslie are getting married this September. I've known Dely since 5th grade - she's a champion fencer. Gail hails from Scotland, is Dely's partner, and used to be in a band. I've known Jenn since high school, and we spent hours in the early '90's watching MTV together via phone. I know you wish you were cool like us. Jenn is currently a real estate agent in Augusta.

So, the menu for the night: Cucumber, Jicama and Fruit Salad, Lime-Cooked Shrimp with Crisp Garlic, Arroz a la Mexicana, Black Beans, Tortilla Chips with Papaya and Red Onion Salsa, and Modelo Especial beer. Having this many people over is a challenge because we don't have a ton of space. We set up two tables, but that leads to a feeling of two dinner parties, not really one... this is something I'll have to work on in the future. One more caveat - I'm sorry that the pictures are a bit fuzzy. I somehow broke the digital camera, and these are all stills taken with the digital video camera. They're just not the same level of quality - it's hard to hold the camera stable enough for the images to be clear. My apologies!

It was great to see all of these folks, of course, and I hope that they had a nice time. There's not much to comment on the food - the jicama wasn't necessarily a big hit. I'll admit that I've had it taste better in different recipes. But live and learn, I suppose. Oh! Dessert! I almost forgot! Leslie made a fantastic pineapple trifle that you surely couldn't tell was low-fat and low-calorie. Jenn, Dely and Gail brought a cheesecake wheel and a key lime pie - both wonderful choices! Thanks!