A Culinary Iditarod
I’m a wee bit stunned that three weeks have gone by since my last blog post. When I read other peoples’ blogs, I always cringe when they say something like, “Gee, have three weeks gone by since I last blogged?”, or words to that effect. All I can say is, “oops.”
Anyway, these last few weeks, especially the last eight days, have been nothing short of a culinary Iditarod. Without the dogs, of course. It’s been a crazed busy time for cooking. Starting last weekend, Karen and I did a dinner for eight in the nifty Springfield neighborhood of Forest Park. It’s a very cool old neighborhood, and the host and hostess were very nice. I did a combined surf and turf. That is, scallops in an orange/grapefruit sauce, and beef tenderloin. And I finished it up with bananas Foster. I didn’t flame the rum-soaked bananas, as I thought setting the curtains on fire would pretty much ruin the evening. And for some reason, bananas Foster has been the dessert of choice for the last few months. At the very least, it is a fun way to finish a relaxing meal.
In the middle of the week, I had an enjoyable day that was a variation on a personal chef day. I was given as a gift(!!) to a woman recently diagnosed with breast cancer, by a group of her friends. And instead of “just” a day of making meals for her fridge and freezer, four of her friends came by, and the day turned into a cooking lesson too. They all had fun, and so did I. And I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
And the Iditarod finished with a family party in Manchester, NH last night. I had a full day, and my body is still recovering. I hit the supermarket and Costco yesterday morning, and was at the stove by noon. The guests showed up at 6:30, just as I was finishing the prep. And then the food started to fly out of the kitchen. It was a surprise 80th birthday party. I always get nervous with surprises for anyone over 75, but no one keeled over, which is always a bonus. They all loved the food, and were super-friendly. So it worked out well all around.
And so we begin a new week. Nothing that a good night’s sleep and an on-call chiropractor won’t help.
I’m a wee bit stunned that three weeks have gone by since my last blog post. When I read other peoples’ blogs, I always cringe when they say something like, “Gee, have three weeks gone by since I last blogged?”, or words to that effect. All I can say is, “oops.”
Anyway, these last few weeks, especially the last eight days, have been nothing short of a culinary Iditarod. Without the dogs, of course. It’s been a crazed busy time for cooking. Starting last weekend, Karen and I did a dinner for eight in the nifty Springfield neighborhood of Forest Park. It’s a very cool old neighborhood, and the host and hostess were very nice. I did a combined surf and turf. That is, scallops in an orange/grapefruit sauce, and beef tenderloin. And I finished it up with bananas Foster. I didn’t flame the rum-soaked bananas, as I thought setting the curtains on fire would pretty much ruin the evening. And for some reason, bananas Foster has been the dessert of choice for the last few months. At the very least, it is a fun way to finish a relaxing meal.
In the middle of the week, I had an enjoyable day that was a variation on a personal chef day. I was given as a gift(!!) to a woman recently diagnosed with breast cancer, by a group of her friends. And instead of “just” a day of making meals for her fridge and freezer, four of her friends came by, and the day turned into a cooking lesson too. They all had fun, and so did I. And I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
And the Iditarod finished with a family party in Manchester, NH last night. I had a full day, and my body is still recovering. I hit the supermarket and Costco yesterday morning, and was at the stove by noon. The guests showed up at 6:30, just as I was finishing the prep. And then the food started to fly out of the kitchen. It was a surprise 80th birthday party. I always get nervous with surprises for anyone over 75, but no one keeled over, which is always a bonus. They all loved the food, and were super-friendly. So it worked out well all around.
And so we begin a new week. Nothing that a good night’s sleep and an on-call chiropractor won’t help.
posted by ChefBill at 8:55 PM
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