Eating alone isn't really that bad
- Laura Moore: Housebroken
- February 6, 2024
- 510
Many years ago Taller Half and I enjoyed inviting folks for dinner. To be totally honest, I have never been what you might call a great cook, though I did have a few dishes everyone seemed to enjoy.
Over the years we thoroughly enjoyed hosting dinner parties, and every guest seemed to like the meals I served. Should I think about trying a new recipe, I usually first tried it out first on family members. If they liked it and had nothing negative to say, I would add it to my
repertoire.
Recently, we invited a daughter and her husband to have dinner with us. I planned to serve a roast with all the trimmings. However, as we all know, a house has to be ready for company, as do her occupants. It had been a busy week, and our house was in dire need of a good cleanup.
My plan was to do a quick vacuuming and dusting, but it turned out that wasn’t all it needed. Our little dog had done a bit of business on the living room rug. After cleaning that up, I somehow managed to knock over a glass full of a cold drink and sent it flying across the kitchen and dining room, soaking the counter, floor and a couple of chairs.
That mishap was quickly followed by smoke pouring out of the preheating oven. It took a few minutes for the fan over the stove to take care of the smoke, but the damage was done. It took almost a whole container of air freshener to mitigate the stench.
All this carrying on put me past the time to get that roast ready to go into the oven. Once the roast was in, I had to get busy preparing the rest of the meal. Right then a smoke alarm in the hallway by the kitchen began to shriek. Our little dog howled, and so did I. It was
just too much.
I sat down with a glass of wine to calm my nerves. That helped until the oven timer went off. When I pulled that roast out, it looked way too well done. I was close to tears when the front door opened and our daughter and her husband walked in. Fortunately, they both were able to help get the meal on the table. That roast was way overcooked, but after a few bites, both said everything tasted good. Aren’t family members kind?
Trust me: It will very likely be an icy cold day in you know where before I even think about having folks come over for dinner.