The guest room is ready and the house is nearly clean. I only have to deal with my accumulated paperwork. I always collect paper and pile until I file. The home is not ours so I can’t really change anything nor do I have room for receipts, bills, tax information, electronics, PSIII accoutrements and the few books we’ve acquired during our stay.
Mostly cookbooks and cooking magazines when I was trying to stop myself from buying cookbooks. I do have two now on my Amazon wish list from a recent NYTimes article. Fiesta With Rick by Rick and Deanne Bayless; and In The Green Kitchen… by Alice Waters.
I can’t place either of them on my cookbook list until I’ve read the books and tried some recipes. Tonight I’m trying yakitori chicken skewers from Food and Wine, and I’ve substituted red pepper for the shitaki mushrooms because my husband doesn’t like them.
I’m also making a new recipe for cold sesame noodles. I love Deborah Madison’s in the Greens cookbook (which I cite in my cookbook recommendations) but that book is in storage 1,500 miles away so I’m going to punt with another try and will let you know how it goes.
I’m testing these for later in the week and may have to try tacos al pastor as well, though our guests arrive Wednesday noon and I need to shop and not play in the kitchen with new recipes. My simple, home-cooked meals should be enough to save the days.
Women worry so much more than men do about having out-of-town guests stay and be comfortable. If my long-term husband was living in a man-cave he might know what kind of beer the guest liked and get him a six-pack, a blanket and grungy pillow and have him sleep on the sofa.
I want to make certain much of breakfast and dinner are taken care of before guests arrive and I’m working on that now, having menus and now re-think them to make them even more tasty and easier to make. Mars and Venus, I know.
Why do women marry people who don’t ever put a new roll of toilet paper on the holder??? Things have changed. We went out for dinner and I just returned, as Jim has to make a quick run to Home Depot for a wrench to change the dog wash station in the 2nd upstairs bathroom to a shower hook-up.
I had a lovely risotto, a special this evening, and thanked our chef and waitress, who turned out to be the big sister of the chef! Maxwell’s is a wonderful pizza place and everything they do is upscale and consistent, like my special risotto and Jim’s Philly Cheese Steak.
It’s been raining but hopefully will stop by Wednesday. Usually they’re good about the forecasts as they know the winds and speed and the storms are already on land by the time they get here.
Take care and have a good week! Tomorrow is grocery shopping and finishing the remainder of my exhaustive list. It’ll happen. Thanks to Reyna for helping out today! Cheers, Dee
Cooking with Dee 