Chateau Paradiso Presents: An evening at Le Diplomate...Day 45

It is 12 degrees Fahrenheit outside today, and that's the high temperature. We are Day 45 post transplant, Day 51 since chemo and isolating began, and in the depths of the post-holiday, back to work, this is going to be a VERY long winter vibe.

So, its true make the best of it form, yesterday was an opportunity to make things a little more interesting, and bring my favorite DC restaurant to life in our Friess Lake home. All I needed was an occasion to spur me into motion - and that occasion was a nice meal for my Dad (and my mom) before my Dad's surgery this morning. (Dad Health update: His eyelids were drooping into his vision line, so he had a procedure that lifted his eyebrow/eyelids so he can see clearly again, and yes this is a real thing and not just a ploy for an eye-lift, but I imagine it may shave off years anyway :)

Seeing that my dad was in the hospital for a bit today (already on the way home), I will steer clear of the parents for a few days, to ensure there is no covid exposure of any kind. To deal with the long separation, I had to send them off in style, so a French cooking marathon was necessary!

For those DCers or anyone who has ever spent time with me...I LOVE THE LE DIPLOMATE! Is it authentic French? Probably not. Is it the best food you've ever had in your life - no. Still one of my absolutely favorite spots, and home to countless glasses of wine and French onion soup at the bar, brunches with my besties, and celebrations with my brother. Ben would tell you I would've gone to dinner there every night if I could, and he's probably right. So I present to you, Le Diplomate at my very own Dining Room Table at Chateau Paradiso:

• Total Cooking Time: 5.5 hours

• Special thanks to Julia Child & the Internet for Recipes

• On the menu (100% from scratch): Vegetarian French onion soup, Mushroom Tarte, Fresh Baked French Bread, Homemade Garlic-Herb butter, Steak Frites (This vegetarian must LOVE her Dad to make this), and Chocolate Mousse.

• Wine Pairing: Merry Edwards (of course!)

• Clean Up Time: 1+ Hours, THANKS RAJ! The whole house still smells of frites, and French food

• I'm exhausted! It was lots of fun though...Worked in the morning, cooked all afternoon, listened to French Cafe Playlist and enjoyed dinner with the family...Not bad for 45 days into this new immune system

Health Update:

• Headed for a check-up soon with the Ear Nose & Throat Specialist to make sure these sinuses and ears are following directions from the anti-biotics

• Energy feels like its improving, and my body is giddy with excitement for a (2nd) first jab of a vaccine next week, fingers crossed my WBC's are still headed in the right direction for that

• Feeling good to be back at work a bit more (from upstairs - overlooking the lake) & starting to think about a new direction for my work. New health. New bone Marrow. New life!!

• Overnight nightmares about catching COVID - which I never had before...cannot wait for this pandemic to reach its peak and GO AWAY. Not just for me, but for my many many friends who are battling it right now.

What's Entertaining Us:

• Encanto on Disney +

• Good Grief Podcast by Lemonade Media (So sad, so hard, so good!)

• Will Smith's Autobiography

What I'm Grateful For:

• Patagonia R1 layers that enable walking in these frigid temperatures

• Instacart delivering during true blizzard conditions to make my French dream dinner possible yesterday

• My Dad's surgery going well today

• My mom the super-caretaker of all time

• Raj's willingness to clean up after my cooking escapades