Living with MCL

How much are two nights at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas, one 6 course and one 7 course dinner at Charlie Palmers Aureole restaurant, and three midday food preparation demonstrations, all accompanied by no less than 69 French, California and Washington wines worth?

I have to admit when I first received the email describing this event, I was skeptical. There was no way to know how big this event was going to be, nor were there specific description of the dinners, or wines that would be served, to really make an informed decision about the event.

Still, after considering the package included 2 nights at the Mandalay Bay, and 2 dinners at Aureole restaurant I didn’t think we could go too wrong by attending. Plus it just sounded like a good excuse to get out of town for the weekend.

So we decided to go, and headed out early Friday morning, as the first event, a pate preparation demonstration, was scheduled for 2:30 PM.

Well the only thing I can say is the event was definitely worth the price. In fact it was probably worth twice the price. Of course we might not have attended if it cost twice as much, but it still would have been worth it.

There were only 29 attendees at the event, making all the demonstrations and dinners very intimate, allowing everyone an opportunity to ask questions, and actually learn something. It was also great interacting with the chefs, the sommeliers and the entire restaurant staff, who were as friendly as anyone could ever expect.

And then there was the food and the wine, all of which were spectacular.

It would be hard to describe the food as other than near perfect, although Friday’s 7 course Lyonnaise inspired dinner was slightly better than Saturday’s American inspired dinner, but that would be expected as chef Vincent Pouessel is French. Still both dinners were excellent, and we got to taste everything from crayfish to bison.

And the wines. All I can say is WOW! They were way beyond anything I expected or could have even imagined. Some examples of the wines we tasted were

• 1984 Joseph Phelps ‘Eisele’ Cabernet Sauvignon
• 1976 Beaulieu Vineyards ‘Georges de Latour’ Cabernet Sauvignon
• 1970 Mayacamas Napa Cabernet Sauvignon
• 1990 Jaboulet ‘La Chapelle’ Hermitage (Rhone)
• 1998 Guigal Hermitage

Just to name a few.

And contrary to what I have come to expect after tasting wines brought to parties by friends, that weren’t nearly as old as the wines we had this past weekend, these wines were all good. Some of these wines may have been past their prime, but despite that, they all had enough fruit and all of the character and balance you would expect from a quality, older wine, but just having the opportunity to taste these wines was an experience I will not soon forget.

In my opinion this was a once in a lifetime event, and Charlie Palmer’s Aureole restaurant will have a hard time topping it, but I plan on attending the next event, regardless of the price, that is assuming it is within reason.

I may need another vacation once I get home. Between the jet lag, the diving, the eating and the drinking, and the heat, I’m not sure I’m gonna  make it to the end of the week.

It’s only day 3, and I’m pretty much wiped out.

Anywaze, we made it safely to the island late Saturday, and I’ve already managed to get in 3 dives. On the first dive I had some trouble equilizing [my ears] when I got down to about 70 feet, and opted out of the second dive that day, but despite my ears still feeling a little clogged today, I did manage to complete both dives without incident.

We also managed to find a little liquor store, a short walk from our resort, which has a pretty decent selection of wine, which is very surprising, considering there is not much happening on this island [Grand Turk]. Of course that does make for a somewhat relaxing time. So life is good!

We also rented a little golf cart for the non divers to explore the island, while the divers are diving, and to shuttle everyone to the different restaurants, and other attractions, we plan on visiting. The food at our resort isn’t the greatest, so we’re hoping by venturing out, we’ll find some better, and if not, at least more interesting places.

Oh well, I better try and  get a little rest before heading to happy hour, dinner, and then starting this all over again tomorrow.

Maybe more later, but don’t count on it. Like I said, I’m beat, besides the internet connection is hit or miss here, and I just don’t want to deal with it any more.  Too many other things going on.

Well there’s no turning back now. The City of Hope called, and Edie is scheduled for an 11:30 AM check in tomorrow. So tonight was time for a special dinner.

We stayed home, and I cooked the perfect medium rare filet mignon, with rice and broccoli, accompanied by a 2005 Hartford Court, Sevens Bench Pinot Noir, and boy was it good.

Not only did I cook the steak to a perfect medium rare, but the wine was one of the better Pinot Noir’s we’ve drank recently. It was a full bodied Pinot, exhibiting a good balance of fruit, tannins and acidity, and with good texture without the high alcohol taste that seems so prevelant in the wines being produced now a days.

Of course, not even the perfect meal, and bottle of wine, can change the reality of the next two or possibley three weeks. They’re not going to be a lot of fun.

Saturday and Sunday, Edie receives high dose melphalan (reduced slightly due to a slightly impaired kidney function), to destroy the old immune system, followed by the transplant on Monday.

Then comes the hard part, waiting for the new immune system to take effect.

I know I’ve been preparing myself for this moment for quite awhile, but that doesn’t make it any easier, especially when you know there isn’t anything you can do effect the outcome.

Tuesday, I was worried about the election and the economy. Well now that the government has come out with a bail out plan to save Wall Street the economy, that’s one less thing to be concerned about.

Now my biggest concern is Edie’s upcoming transplant. I had mostly put that out of mind the last couple of days, but I was reminded of it last night, when Edie indicated she can’t have any more wine, at least until after enough stem cells have been collected. That process begins Monday 9/22, and could take anywhere from one day, to several, or even more days.

As if the ritual Edie goes through every night of cleaning her Hickman Line, loading up a syringe with 900 CC’s of Neupogen, and then injecting herself with it, wasn’t enough, now we have to fore go our nightly glass of wine with dinner.

I know I’d sure be having lots of problems if I were on the other end of that needle. I’m having enough trouble just watching Edie go through it herself.

Heck, it almost makes you hanker for the good old days, when the world financial systems were on the verge of collapse.