Chris and Julie came for dinner tonight. I had everything prepped as much as possible last night, so it wasn’t too bad putting together dinner after work. The smoked trout was especially good tonight. The meal consisted of reliable stand-bys, things I’ve made a million times so I don’t need to think about it. Julie loved the potatoes, and Chris was crazy over the pot pies.

• Smoked Trout Rillettes (Fine Cooking #42, January 2001, p. 44)
• Chicken Roulades Stuffed with Goat Cheese & Sun-Dried Tomatoes (Fine Cooking #62, January 2004, p. 86C)
• Potatoes Fondantes (Fine Cooking #64, May 2004, p. 59)
• Fennel & Red Onion with Arugula (Fine Cooking #62, January 2004, p. 48)
• Chocolate-Raspberry Pot Pies (Just a Bite, p. 228)

Wine: We opened several bottles of Zinfandel, since we’re all Zin lovers:
– Rockpile Ridge 2002 Rockpile Ridge Vineyard Zinfandel (Rockpile, California). One of the best Zins I’ve ever tasted. Perfect balance, lots of fruit, but not a huge fruit bomb.
– Valdez 2004 Rockpile Road Vineyard Zinfandel (Rockpile, California). We opened this second wine without even thinking it was another Rockpile. This wine is still a bit hot and closed, even though we decanted it. We bought a case so we’ll continue to wait and drink. Still good, though.
– A. Rafanelli 2000 Zinfandel (Dry Creek Valley, California). One of the better Rafanelli vintages. A bit earthy, but still with bright fruit, kind of mellow.