¡Ostras!

Saturday evening's festivities began with some choice jamón iberico, as it should, and also included some olives and cheese to round out the Spanish trio.

By 7:30 pm or so, the guests had arrived: Dima and his wife Svieta, Alessia and her daughter; all friends of Ted and Olga from Barcelona, who split their time between here and Moscow.

Ted and Olga had some wonderful oysters they had been given by a friend of a friend who owns the largest and oldest oyster farm in France.  Evidently, these oysters from Bretagne were among the best around.  Only problem was, we didn't know how to open them!

Fortunately, Dima did know how, and graciously did all of the leg work so the rest of us could enjoy this treat. 

I was anxious to learn how to shuck, and he taught me the technique.  By no means would I call myself an expert, but I managed to open up a few of them without severing any appendages in the process.

Once the shucking was done, it was time to slurp down some oysters, and let me tell you, they were some of the best I have ever had!  Plump and creamy, not overly briny...about perfect with a squeeze of lemon and a tad of mignonette.  Delicious.

While we enjoyed oysters and wine, the steaks cooked over hickory on the outdoor grill.  Really, a great Saturday barbeque.

Before long, it was time to eat, and the table was set nicely with roses, which are abundant and blooming in the backyard garden.

Jamón, oysters, steak and copious amounts of red wine, wonderful Spanish bottles with the odd Bordeaux thrown in.  

After all of this, I was ready to tap out, but not before a quick snapshot with the two little ones, who were a lot more interested in what was taking place on and around the table, than in this particular photo opportunity.