The Heusens

Our second Last Supper features Familia Escobar: Andrew, Michelle, their adorable 1 1/2 year old daughter Catia, and their gestating son (who may be born as I write this post)!

Andrew is half Sicilian, half Colombian. So basically he is a real OG. Original Gangsta. I first met Andrew when he was a lower-case g. We met 11 years ago (as I am writing this I seriously cannot believe it was so long ago) as freshmen living in the dork dorm at USC.

Andrew served me my first orange juice and vodka, and then watched as I threw it all up (it was also my last orange juice and vodka). We went to countless fraternity and sorority invites and exchanges together, went to Lake Havasu on Spring Break, and spent countless hours hanging out because I was dating Andrew's lame roommate throughout college.

During our senior year, Andrew met the beautiful and charming Michelle. I loved Michelle instantly. Michelle is a spitfire. She is one of the most organized people I have ever met and it never ceases to amaze me how many irons she manages to keep in the fire. Michelle also has a very "hot" temperament. Let's just say that Andrew learned very quickly who is boss (sorry Andrew). She also has an absolutely wicked sense of humor.

Michelle is the most caring person ever - I always look forward to her thoughtful emails and great advice - she has been a lifesaver on more than one occasion. She is also incredibly loyal to her friends...so any enemy of mine is an enemy of Michelle's! Do not cross this woman - or she will cut you! One of my favorite Michelle stories is how she made my ex's girlfriend cry at a restaurant (Michelle was representing Team Ashlyn)...long story, but it involved Michelle somehow passing off incredible insults as "innocent comments." Comments like "Wow, you must be working so hard! It looks like you haven't had much time to work out!"

Andrew ventured off to Yale Law School, and Michelle soon followed with her law degree. Soon they were living together with, like, five sugar gliders and a bajillion puppies. I was lucky enough to be a bridesmaid in their wedding, and to later win them as my exclusive friends in my divorce settlement...I'm only half joking. (Please note that the sugar gliders were fully present in a huge travel cage in their wedding suite).

Andrew and Michelle now live in the O.C. with their adorable daughter Catia and bun-in-the-oven Baby #2, where they complain about the lack of quality food. Andrew and Michelle are foodies. Michelle comes from a rich Romanian culinary tradition. I still salivate over the Romanian feasts I've had at her parents' house (feta and phyllo - what's not to love?) and vividly remember the emphatic wine-fueled lecture I received from Michelle's dad about how "Romanian cuisine is the most complex in the world...think of how long they braise a rabbit in red wine, blah blah blah!" So Andrew and Michelle know what they are talking about when it comes to food.

You can't really tell in this picture, but Catia has the most gorgeous gray-blue eyes you'll ever see.

Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you: Familia Escobar's Last Supper.

1. What would you eat as your last supper, if you could have anything you wanted?

Michelle: Ok - my answers are long and probably overly-dramatic. I love food and wine, and have such a respect for its history and connection to life. I can't deny who I am - a romantic dork who majored in history - so my answers are befitting:

To start the meal, in the afternoon, some freshly baked local bread - crisp crust with warm, spongy center. To go with it a nice, sharp, local cheese - something like a good provolone from Bologne or sharp Irish cheddar where you can taste the creaminess of the milk but you get that sharp tang in the bite. And of course to go with it, a good bottle of red wine...something like a spicy tuscan, a chianti classico perhaps.

After, as the sun begins to set, for the main course, a fresh roasted chicken. Basted in olive oil and stuffed with the freshes herbs of the surrounding landscape - rosemary, thyme, oregano - the earthy aromas permeate every part of that juicy chicken. To go along with it, some vegetables lightly seasoned with fresh extra virgin olive oil and simple salt and pepper, roasted until caramelized and warm. And of course, wine to accompany: maybe a cotes du rhone or beaujolais.

As early evening sets, for dessert, something timeless and for the ages: roasted fresh figs and a sharp roquefort bleu with a drizzle of fresh honey and a sweet muscat or ice wine - the bitter and the sweet.

With my meal, I want to taste the earth with the herbs and cheese, and how the sun warmed the grapes I drink and the vegetables I eat. My meal is one for all the sense, so I can smell, taste, see the world one last time. My meal was enjoyed by my ancestors past, and will be enjoyed by my future - so I would feel more a part of life's cycle. And I end with a fitting summation of my life: without the bitterness, we cannot truly enjoy the salvation of the sweet.

Andrew: Filet mignon from Sparks as part of a infinite-course meal with every other dish I love (the idea is for the meal to never end, thereby staving off death)

Catia: RED MANGO!!!! Original flavor with raspberries and strawberries. And to wash it down, some apple juice - Martinelli's. Mommy says Martinelli's is the Dom Perignon of apple juice and I must concur. Anything my mommy cooks is good too, but my meal must include red mango and apple juice.

Brother Escobar: Spicy Asian Food - anything with sriracha on it. I love Thai food, so maybe something like a spicy curry, kaffir lime chicken but really spiced up (a level 10 please!), drunken noodle...and some spicy sriracha on the side. I also enjoy a good pho bowl on a cooler day...with some sriracha on the side for my beef. I like Japanese food too, but unfortunately I've been restricted to the donburi bowls. Don't get me wrong, they're excellent grub, but that time I had sushi was spectacular, and I'm very much looking forward to getting out and sampling some more delectable fish bites! With wasabi.

2. Where would you eat it (what would the setting be)?

Michelle: It would be mid-autumn, when the leaves are all different colors and you can smell the spice in the cool air. We would be on the grounds of a castle somewhere in Europe (England, France, Italy), in the back courtyard surrounded by this spectacular scenery. We would eat on a large wooden table, with chairs and cushions, and as the daylight dims we'd have candlelight. We would drink our wines in ceramic goblets.

Andrew: My dining table

Catia: At the park with my na-nas (dogs for you non-baby speakers). I'd like to chow down then enjoy a nice ride in my stroller to the park where I can play on the swings. Helps the digestion...

Brother Escobar: "Currently? In my mother's tummy. But I'm hoping that will change soon because it's getting awfully cramped in here! Need more seating!!!

3. Who would you eat it with (you can pick anyone, dead or alive)?

Michelle: Andrew. With a timeless meal fit for all the ages, I couldn't imagine having it with anyone else but my eternal partner, in this life and others.

Andrew: Michelle, Cati, The-soon-to-be-named-"Brother Escobar," with Thomas (pre-accident) and the rest of my family and everyone else from my life that I've been close to or befriended rotating through with each course.

Catia: Elmo.

Brother Escobar: Come on people, like I have a choice in here??

Posted by Ashlyn on Monday, September 22, 2008 at 10:44 PM | Permalink