Dan's Birthday Recap

As promised (thanks for the reminder Tone), here is a picture of Dan's birthday present, a new mesa de bilhares, or pool table to you folks across the pond. He was definitely surprised, and we have already found that a quick game after work is a great way to relax and talk about our days. It also seems that we will be having much more frequent visits from our landlord's son, Bruno, which is good, as he is very friendly and helpful (he took care of the pups when we went to Al's wedding).

For the birthday dinner we went out and tried Feijoadas de Búzios, a specialty at one of the restaurants in Costa Nova. It apparently is a stew of beans (Feijão) with little shellfish called whelks (Búzios), served over rice, pretty tasty. The next evening I attempted stuffed squid, which actually came out pretty yummy. The stuffing was a mix of garlic, onions, celery, tomatoes, shrimp, squid tentacles, white wine, and bread crumbs. I stuffed half of it inside the squid bodies, put the rest on top and baked it all. So much easier and tastier than the octopus adventure.

Anyway, come on by for a game when you get a chance!