Started off the day today with a black cherry shake made for me by my lovely wife.

Black cherry shake Dec 4, 2008

The recipe for this is:

6 oz water
1.5 -2 scoops vanilla protein powder (low carb)
1 cup of ice
1 oz coconut milk
1/2 oz Torani Sugar-Free Black Cherry syrup

Worked all morning on all the comments that had stacked up while I played golf yesterday.  At lunchtime, MD and I ran out to get our mail and go to our local market and get a chicken.  The rotisseried chickens at this market are about two bucks more than at the other markets in town, but are much, much tastier.  MD is convinced it is because these chickens have been brined before roasting.  It does make a huge difference.  All the other chickens look as good, but taste kind of bland.  Here is the whole chicken as it comes.

Rotisserie chicken Dec 4, 2008

MD carves it, splits it up, and plates it all out.  We have developed a way of sharing.  I get two wings and a drumstick and thigh.  She gets a drumstick and thigh and the skin from the breast.  She saves the breast meat for soup, which I’ll probably end up having before the week is out.

My share of the chicken Dec 4, 2008

We had to run a couple of errands downtown, so we decided to eat at one of our hangouts, Dargan’s Irish Pub.  We ordered a pint of cider while waiting for our food and another pint about halfway through.  I love hard cider.  Not a bad deal carbwise either if it’s the dry kind, which this is.

First cider Dec 4, 2008

Second cider Dec 4, 2008

For supper I had a 12 ounce rib eye steak with a Portobello mushroom sauce on it and extra vegetables.  Unfortunately for me, the vegetables that came with it were steamed broccoli and carrots, heavy on the broccoli.  I used to like broccoli a lot, but I’ve since become kind of burned out on it.  But I ate it anyway.  A little butter, salt and pepper helped it go down.

Steak at Dargan

After we left Dargan’s we decided to run down to the Granada to see the marquis all lit up.  Here is a photo from across the street.  You can see the headline for the Messiah on the right.  The Granada is a fabulous place.  I’ll be in a box there Saturday night (one of the perks of being married to the president), and I’ll take some pictures.  There is a fru fru party after, so I’ll have my trusty camera to record any noshing I may do.

Granada theater Santa Barbara Dec 4, 2008 (click to enlarge)

Here is a freezing MD posing in front of the poster for the Messiah.

MD in front of Granada Dec 4, 2008

And a close up of the poster.

Messiah poster Dec 4, 2008

After we got home, we started the final season of the House of Cards Trilogy, a Brit series about the infighting in parliament and the Prime Minister’s office.  One of the best things I’ve ever seen done for television.  Was originally shown in the early 1990s.  While watching, I got a hankering for some Izarra, a Basque aromatic liqueur.  I had a tiny glass and sipped on it while the show was playing.

Izarra Dec 4, 2008