By, Sara ‘Zarine’ Jessop
This past weekend I journeyed to the lands of Blackwood, a nation renowned for their meats and casinos. I hear there were some issues with monsters from another plane of existence or some such ridiculousness, but all of that involved the woods and being outside and let's face it; I was only there to eat, gamble, shop, and socialize. All things that happen inside.
Upon arrival I was asked immediately about the poker tournament, which I declined to enter as I’d just arrived. As much as I love to socialize around a game of cards, I don’t wish to spend my whole day tied to a table. Well…. not a poker table anyways. With how I play, it’s unlikely it’d be there for more than a few hours, but even that is too much time commitment for me at an event I can only attend for about five hours. Personally I prefer Blackjack, which I was very disappointed was not in the offering this year. There was a table for Let it Ride, but I have never been able to enjoy that for some reason so I did not partake. And sadly it feels as though it’s been an age since Sir Tao has graced us with his Craps.
I was informed shortly after settling in and setting up the Invictus table that there were some appetizers out, specifically the Realms famous Blackwood Meatballs. I wasn’t all that hungry when I arrived as Trent and I decided to have brunch before we traveled, but I did try one and they were delicious as always. Perhaps a little heavy handed on the onion, but not enough to detract from their amazingness. There was also a Tomato Mozzarella Stuffed Flatbread which is a bit of a misnomer as it was definitely more rounded than flat. I actually didn’t know what was inside it at first as I had yet to peruse the menu, but I decided to try it all the same and was very happy that I had as it was absolutely delectable.
Speaking of not reading the menu…I was told that there were deviled eggs and that Sir Mathies had specifically held them in anticipation of my arrival. Now, I am quite an accomplished deviler and I am partial to my own recipe, but I am always quite excited to try another’s take on it. So, here my mouth was all set for the creamy goodness of egg innards mixed with more egg on a bed of, you guessed it, egg! So I immediately popped one in, and was met with a crunch. A wayward shell, you ask? Oh no, dear reader, this was no accident, this was an intentional crunch. You see my loves, these were Dill Pickle Deviled Eggs. Now, I proceeded to eat two more of these crimes against eggkind because I felt obligated to give them their due, especially since others had been deprived of them until my arrival. Sadly the only verdict I could come to is that Mathies will surely burn in hell for this affront to proper food textures. Bit ironic eh?
Fortunately he redeemed himself with the main courses. My plate this year was graciously delivered by Sir Bones who had placed a sampling of each item upon it. The Italian Beef was alright on its own, but it was the sauce that really made it special. I heard it was some sort of wine sauce, which explains why I was so drawn to it. The Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs were divine. It is not always appropriate to use the word moist, but when describing food with just the right amount of moisture it is and this chicken was wonderfully moist.The Sauteed Green Beans were fine, nothing to write home about but since I was already writing about everything else I figured I’d include them anyways. The Crispy Parmesan Potatoes were heavenly and went well with the meats. Apparently there was a vegetarian option that Bones didn’t think to bring along, so I was not able to sample that particular dish.
After the main courses came dessert. There was a fruit salad which I can only assume was full of disgusting pineapple but other people, who apparently enjoy the taste of gross, seemed to be enjoying it. I was more interested in the three cupcake options which were brought to me by the chef himself. There was a Chocolate Cherry, which was good although cherries are not my favorite. Next came the Caramel Apple-Spice, and while clearly the spice of the glorious orange gourds of Autumn are superior, this spice was quite tasty. I saved my favorite for last, The Lemon Creme. Even though I have had it before, it surprised me yet again how much I enjoy a good lemon frosting.
Besides gambling and food, there were a few other offerings of note. Belle had the debut of her new shop, Belle’s Baubles, and it was full of all kinds of, well… baubles. I bought a very lovely hair clip that I can’t wait to wear to the next gathering. Sir Kara had some logic puzzles that she awarded raffle tickets for solving. Kiira and I teamed up on those and had fun figuring them out, even though I was told there would be no math and these were definitely math. That leads us to the raffle prizes, which were supposed to be drawn one per hour but I think Tao lost track of time because it seemed that only a few were drawn early. It also seems like Blackwood members won a large percentage of prizes in their own lands… perhaps Conspiracy Theory Monthly might want to look into that. Speaking of, there was a paper copy of that very amusing publication distributed on the tables. Of course there was court, which was fairly short. There were some knightings, squirings, land transfers, recognitions for accomplishments, etc. Usual court business.
Overall it was a very lovely if hot and humid day in Blackwood. Picklegate aside, the food was delicious. There was light attendance this year, but the company was enjoyable and it was nice to be able to socialize without an overwhelming crowd. Daekara (hopefully) learned how to cook chicken and Mathies learned to keep his pickles away from my eggs and we all left happy and full.
And I have leftover Meatballs.