John and I shifted into high gear today, doing set up for tomorrow's party. Plates and glassware are set out. Food is assigned spots on the buffet table. Flowers are arranged. Fruit and nuts are scattered amongst the greens and pine cones (this year I chose kumquats, persimmons, and seckle pears - mostly because it's so fun to say all those words). The actual centerpiece I got from Arts & Flowers and it turned out beautifully - they do seriously cool arrangements (I love Roger Beck too). Candles are distributed around various parts of the house, wood is in the fireplace; both await the touch of a match. Beer is chilling in the garage; water, soda, and wine are ready to pour.
Despite a cold day, I was able to get my grill hot enough to put a good sear on both pork and beef tenderloin roasts (I'll serve them tomorrow cold, sliced, and garnished with mushrooms, chopped tomatoes, and fresh herbs). Tonight I'll bake the Almond Triangles (stay tuned for results).
Tomorrow we'll do the final straightening of the house, chop and prepare garnishes, slice the roasts, compose a cheese tray, set out bowls of cashew brittle and almonds, ice the beverages, light a million candles, get some good holiday tunes playing, and clean the kitchen of pretty much everything in preparation for the caterers to do their thing. Somewhere in there I'll remember to get dressed and put on some party shoes.
Hope your holiday party plans are going well! (We're going OUT for dinner tonight - Cafe Barbette, here we come!)
Well, there it is, our
Bizarre Foods debut behind us. Whew! I was very nervous watching last night (although not as nervous as I was on my way to film it, ack). I thought the food looked delicious (it was) and not overly bizarre, right? In fact, we lucked out hugely being invited for the lovely
Heartland gig - how 'bout those
burgers topped with big scoops of
peanut butter and
mayo? Man, give me
brains poached in
cream and
pickled tongue over that any day.
We appeared much quieter than we actually were, although I laughed out loud - and all day - at John
matter-of-factly saying he was happy to have eaten
testicle.
You can just imagine the comments he's gotten today, at basketball and at the office, funny. All in all, a very cool experience indeed.
Today, I continued with this Mexican food jones I've got going. After
white chicken chili last night, I grilled
pork tenderloin this evening, to eat wrapped in fresh, warm
corn tortillas with
"pickled" onions, avocado slices, and a crumble of
feta (standing in for
queso fresco). Sort of a quicker, lighter take on
carnitas. And frankly, just as delicious. (Recipe posted in comments, below.)
After
Saturday's Date Day and
Monday's Date Night, we've had a couple of days of very simple, low-key eating (and tough, tough walks and bike rides in this heat, makes me feel like I've hit a brick wall, ugh). Moderation, you know, ha - woo hoo! Mostly
salads, although tonight I made a simple,
garlicky, brothy shrimp sauce to toss with
pasta. I sauteed
spinach and
ripe tomato as an optional add-in (we had both kids tonight, neither of whom would be thrilled to
find wilted
spinach in their
pasta, ha) for John, Stacey, and me. Turned out light and so pretty, with
pink shrimps, dark green spinach and
fresh parsley, and
red tomato, yum.
Tomorrow night, we're back on for a bit of part-ay-ing. John's partners Stu The Wine Genius, Bill, and Joe, with their wives Debbie, Karla, and Genie (respectively), are coming for a casual dinner.
Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Tomatoes and Onion will be the main course, alongside
creamy polenta and a medley of
grilled vegetables. A
nice tart for dessert, I think (can't get enough of
summer fruit desserts,
rarrr...) Looking forward to it!
There is nothing moderate about this heat, yowza! Hellish (96 degrees), humid (dewpoint in the 70s, that's tropical, my friends, yuck), scorching (nary a cloud to cast even a bit of shade), and stifling (just a whisper of muggy breeze would be better than nothing). Basically it's dripping, nasty, ugly HOT. A
salad day, or ooh, a
gazpacho day, both sound lovely, although I had neither. Meh, the heat makes me feel like I'm swimming in more of a fog than usual, so while I made it to the grocery store, I didn't actually prepare anything with the ingredients. Lame! I know! Perhaps I'll be more inspired tomorrow, when I get my
veggies on. And, I picked up a
pork
tenderloin at the store today that I plan on grilling tomorrow with lots of
barbecue sauce for quick
pulled-pork sandwiches. (Nowhere near as gorgeous and decadent as the
pork shoulder I slow-grilled last summer, but pretty damn tasty nonetheless.) In fact, I'll do it in the afternoon, before things get crazy in the evening, so we'll be good to go for a couple of days. Yeah, that'll put me back on track! I need to get back into fighting form for the weekend - I'm bringing a dessert to a dinner party on Friday night, Stu The Wine Genius and his wife Debbie are coming for dinner on Saturday, and Sunday the Baseball Moms and their boys are coming for a big swim. Woo hoooooo, it's gonna be a HOT one!
