December 17th, 2015
A glass or two of wine with friends is one of life’s greatest pleasures. The Swirl Girls started in Ocean City, Maryland, almost 6 years ago by a group of friends that enjoy wines. Women and Wine, it is all about good conversation and great wines to taste. And, dinner is usually served, as well.
Once a month throughout the year they get together. One person is the host, she provides the food, the rest bring what they would like to drink which is usually wine but there a few that prefer spirits at times.
And, at this time of the year, Donna, gives a Swirl Girls Christmas Party. It is at this time that “members” can invite friends to attend. And, that is where I come into the picture. My friend, Cindi, invited me.
We were to only bring a present worth about $20 or so with an Italian theme. We arrived at Donna’s to find the house totally decorated, the tables set, and the Swirl Girls ready to mingle with friends.
Nobody is posing for photos so what you see is what I got.
Tasting wine is not the same as drinking it. You have to pay attention to those acute senses of sight, smell, touch and taste.
A true Swirl Girl holds the stem of the wine glass, and gently swirls the glass in small circles on a flat surface, allowing the oxygen to penetrate the wine. You are aerating the wine. As the wine coats the sides of the glass, it releases its bouquet.
For dinner, we had pasta, Caesar Salad, shrimp, cheeses, breads and soups.
For dessert homemade cakes, cannoli and cookies.
Then the Presents…..We all got one number. Everyone got a present. By the order of numbers, starting with number 1, this person opens her present, then the person with number 2 decides if she wants that present or she can open her own. In reality you can steal the other person’s present. And so the evening went. For example, I got this bottle of Italian Pisa Liquor and was immediately snatched by one of my “friends”.
Others were able to show their presents so others could make a decision. The bottle of champagne was snatched too.
The next photos show some of them wearing colanders. There is a reason. And, it is not that they had too much wine. Did you read about the woman that wanted to wear a colander on her head on her license’s photo? They finally did let her. She is part of a “religion” called the Pastafarians. I am not making this up. You can research it yourself. So being politically correct, we decided that the theme would still be Italian and few colanders showed up during the evening.
The greatest gift of life is that of friendship, and I have received it!! At times I don’t get to see them often enough, but when we get together is like time have stood still. Love it and I find it priceless!!
Yeah, it's all here.
December 1st, 2010
When having to travel on Rt. 50, over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, towards Baltimore, the airport, Washington, etc., 2 restaurants I hit all the time. It seems they are the only ones I do prefer to stop and relax. Remember, that this is my own personal opinion. Yes, my blog. There are more restaurants in the area but I just like these 2 the best.
So yesterday, Tuesday, I found myself traveling that corridor and it was already about 3 p.m. Not having had lunch I don’t know if my stopping at The Narrows qualified as late lunch or super early bird. Their happy hour had not even started.
There were a few customers and the restaurant was getting ready for a wine tasting. The Narrows is located at 3023 Kent Narrows Way South, Grasoville, MD 21638. Traveling West take exit 42 and traveling East take exit 41. Tel. 410-827-8113. Website is www.thenarrowsrestaurant.com. They are on Facebook and Twitter.
The Narrows was opened in 1983 and it sits on the foundation of an old oyster shucking house.
This restaurant is casual with beautiful views of the water at this time of the day. Yesterday, it was cloudy, but still beautiful.
You can sit indoors or on their porch, which is also enclosed but with windows that are open during the summer months. If you choose the porch then you are on top of the water. I like to see the boats slide by.
I had to give Harris Crab House a rest; lately I have had the craving for crabs and steamed clams. Harris Crab House is across the highway. Having that satisfied, my next craving was the best cream of crab soup, at The Narrows. I am not kidding you it is so delicious, thick, lumps of crab meat; I don’t even want to know the calories.
I started with just a cup of the cream of crab soup; could have had a bowl. It is presented with a cruet of sherry. You practically can put your spoon in and it will stand straight up. Then cut it with the sherry. Some of us put more sherry than others. My parents were in that group. They loved this restaurant and every time they visited; this was a must stop restaurant. Alissa, our waitress, told me that one time somebody asked for a short glass with ice and proceeded to also put that sherry on the glass. So, to each its own.
I told Alissa that I had been given their cream of crab soup recipe many years ago by my mother in law and when I made it; sorry but it was not the same. Could it had been that an ingredient was left out? She then gave me a copy and it is somewhat different from the one I had. I will give it to you in a little bit. You will love it. Well, if you don’t like cream soups, then this recipe might not be the one to try.
The other appetizer ordered was the grilled buffalo quail. Perfectly grilled and seasoned.
For my entree I chose the sliders. After my soup I wanted something lighter; no kidding. Three sliders; mini crab cake, bison, and ahi tuna, served on potato rolls and frizzled onions. I have to tell you that I have never ordered sliders anywhere, but I thought this was an interesting presentation and it hit the spot. I loved the 3 combinations.
I opened them up so that you can see how good they looked.
At this time of the year the crab meat at The Narrows is coming from Louisiana, the bison, I believe, from up the road on Rt. 16 in Delaware and the oysters from the Choptank River.
The Narrows also has a gluten free menu so the catfish was ordered from that menu even though he really wanted the one from the regular menu which was peanut encrusted. Nevertheless, he said that it was very good.
I promised you the crab recipe so here it goes:
Cream of Crab Soup
1 lb. jumbo lump crab meat
1 small carrot, grated
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups half and half
2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1 tablespoon chicken base (I asked what this was and it is bouillon)
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
Remove any cartilage from the crab meat and set the crab aside.
In a thick pot, warm cream, half & half, sherry, chicken base and seasoning to slow simmer.
In a separate pan toast the roux (flour and butter) for a few minutes until it smells of toasted nuts (do not burn). See note below.
Add roux to cream – bring back to a simmer – wisk until smooth.
Serve garnish with the chopped parsley and please pass a cruet of sherry.
Serves 4 to 6
Note: A roux is a cooked mixture of flour and butter. It is used as a thickener for gravy, other sauces, soups and stews. Warm butter, add flour and stir until mixture is thick and starts to turn slightly brown and has that nutty smell.
Now you know why I did not want to even check the amount of calories in this soup.
The Narrows is so well known for its crab cakes and soups that they ship anywhere in the United States. Catering is also available so please give them a call.
I want to thank Alissa for taking such good care of us.
Well, it was time to keep on trucking towards Delaware. I usually take the backroads and as I was driving; not too many cars on the road, I passed this house all decorated; it reminded me that I have yet to put one Christmas decoration on my house.
Talk to you later….have a great day….
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