One of my favoite ways to spend a Sunday is at home, cooking with friends.  Today, some friends I haven't seen for a while came to visit.  We began with a semolina bread and high quality olive oil along with a cheese plate that consisted of an organic, upasturized brie, Champogion (brie with black truffles), a Fiore de Sardinia (sheeps milk cheese from Sardinia) and a 3yr aged gouda.  Accompaning these cheeses, I served marcona almonds, turkish dates, kalamata olives, and high-quality procuttio de parma.  Merrily, we accompanied our cheese course with a 2006 Crios Torrontes Valle de Cafayte from Argentina (yummy)!

I then prepared a fresh cavatelli pasta in a white wine reduction consisting of smoked sausage, artichoke hearts, black olives, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes.

For our main course, I slow-roased a pork shoulder with a fennel/juniper berry spice rub, accompanied by fresh steamed asparagus. We drank a 2005 DeLille Cellars Chaleur Estate (white bordeaux style Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon).

For dessert, my friend Jen brought an Italian style ricotta-cream cheese torte.  So plesantly drunk and full, we talked, enjoyed each others' company and called it a day.