I may write by the seat of my pants, but when it comes to daily life, I'm a planner. I make list after list, and I've passed this on to Jordan. If we're giving big parties, we both put dishes out days in advance with little notes telling what goes in each dish, which led Christian to say to Jordan, "You and your mother have a screw loose." So this time of year I begin thinking about the holidays, lists for Thanksgiving, Christmas and some Christmas entertaining. But before I really worry about all that, I have guests coming.
This weeked Megan and her family are arriving from Austin, which will attract Jordan and her family and Jamie and his three girls, Mel included. Nope, I'm not planning. The Austin and Frisco contingents are not planners, and I can't count on when they'll be here or what they'll want. I probably have enough for breakfast for kids, and that's all I'm going to worry about. I'll go with the flow--hard for me, but I'm getting better at it.
But the next weekend my best friend from high school is coming to visit--whooppee! I'm excited. Neither she nor I drive well on the highway, so we had wondered how we'd get together, but she has a friend with friends near Fort Worth, and so they're both coming. I've met the friend through emails, and we've been bantering happily back and forth. But in one email, Barbara's friend, Pam, let drop that she hates mayonnaise and any of that other "white stuff"--sour cream, cream cheese, etc. She's just like my Megan.
Well, there went my menu planning. I was going to fix a potato chip/chicken casserole one night with butter and mayonaise; the next night, chicken bundles in crescent rolls--the filling chicken and cream cheese. (Both of those are courtesy Mystery Lovers Kitchen, from Elizabeth Spann Craig whose new book is Progressive Dinner Deadly--I've used Elizabeth's recipes often and love them).Regroup and replan, and when I did it amazed me how many of my recipes rely on one or another form of "the white stuff," though since I have good friends who are gluten and dairy free, I should be better at this. But Doris casserole, a family favorite? Noodle portion has a sauce of sour cream and cream cheese. That new ziti recipe? The sauce is made creamy with cream cheese, sort of a Bolognese effect. And so it went with every recipe I picked up.
I'm not going to divulge the weekend menu, since I know my prospective guests read my blog--I'll share it after the fact. But here's a non-creamy recipe I'm going to fix tomorrow for Linda who regularly dines with me on class night. Linda loves pasta and tuna:
Cover skillet with a light coat of olive oil, heat and saute one box cherry tomatoes and one Tbsp of capers with liquid. When tomatoes begin to blister, add one can of drained white beans (cannellini). Add a 7.5 oz. can of drained albacore tuna,some parsley, and anchovies. Toss with pasta of your choice. You may have to add a little olive oil.
Quick and easy one-dish meal with crunchy bread.
This weeked Megan and her family are arriving from Austin, which will attract Jordan and her family and Jamie and his three girls, Mel included. Nope, I'm not planning. The Austin and Frisco contingents are not planners, and I can't count on when they'll be here or what they'll want. I probably have enough for breakfast for kids, and that's all I'm going to worry about. I'll go with the flow--hard for me, but I'm getting better at it.
But the next weekend my best friend from high school is coming to visit--whooppee! I'm excited. Neither she nor I drive well on the highway, so we had wondered how we'd get together, but she has a friend with friends near Fort Worth, and so they're both coming. I've met the friend through emails, and we've been bantering happily back and forth. But in one email, Barbara's friend, Pam, let drop that she hates mayonnaise and any of that other "white stuff"--sour cream, cream cheese, etc. She's just like my Megan.
Well, there went my menu planning. I was going to fix a potato chip/chicken casserole one night with butter and mayonaise; the next night, chicken bundles in crescent rolls--the filling chicken and cream cheese. (Both of those are courtesy Mystery Lovers Kitchen, from Elizabeth Spann Craig whose new book is Progressive Dinner Deadly--I've used Elizabeth's recipes often and love them).Regroup and replan, and when I did it amazed me how many of my recipes rely on one or another form of "the white stuff," though since I have good friends who are gluten and dairy free, I should be better at this. But Doris casserole, a family favorite? Noodle portion has a sauce of sour cream and cream cheese. That new ziti recipe? The sauce is made creamy with cream cheese, sort of a Bolognese effect. And so it went with every recipe I picked up.
I'm not going to divulge the weekend menu, since I know my prospective guests read my blog--I'll share it after the fact. But here's a non-creamy recipe I'm going to fix tomorrow for Linda who regularly dines with me on class night. Linda loves pasta and tuna:
Cover skillet with a light coat of olive oil, heat and saute one box cherry tomatoes and one Tbsp of capers with liquid. When tomatoes begin to blister, add one can of drained white beans (cannellini). Add a 7.5 oz. can of drained albacore tuna,some parsley, and anchovies. Toss with pasta of your choice. You may have to add a little olive oil.
Quick and easy one-dish meal with crunchy bread.
If it was me and I was entertaining guests...one who was high maintenance from a culinary standpoint, might I suggest you have her do all the planning and cooking! I'm sure she'd love to cook for both of you...veal piccata, pork tenderloin on the grill, great olive oil based salad dressings and homemade salads! All recipes from her northeast roots. Oh wait! That person is me! The "no white stuff" new friend! All will be great whatever it is we dine on. I say there's always the fresh bread, cheese, veggies and wine meal plan.. Followed by a sweet. And of course how can we forget reservations?! From one planner to another...thank you! A great time will be had by all!
ReplyDeleteIf it was me and I was entertaining guests...one who was high maintenance from a culinary standpoint, might I suggest you have her do all the planning and cooking! I'm sure she'd love to cook for both of you...veal piccata, pork tenderloin on the grill, great olive oil based salad dressings and homemade salads! All recipes from her northeast roots. Oh wait! That person is me! The "no white stuff" new friend! All will be great whatever it is we dine on. I say there's always the fresh bread, cheese, veggies and wine meal plan.. Followed by a sweet. And of course how can we forget reservations?! From one planner to another...thank you! A great time will be had by all!
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