When we are planning to cook at one of our houses, I usually assume the role of menu-planner. Weekends especially allow me the freedom to cook as I wish and unless otherwise noted, my friends let me use them as my guinea pigs for trying new recipes.
I have chopped, diced and baked with my friends around enough to know who I'm dealing with. I know that MG, AV and I will not eat fish, CC and MK will eat most anything but CC does not like celery and MK gets nauseous around bananas. AV does not like to mix salty and sweet in the same bite, KS is allergic to red meat and chocolate (I know, so tragic), and I can tell you that KR will eat sushi but also gets goobed-out handling raw meat. I can tell you who drinks coffee and who drinks tea, who prefers white wine and who prefers red, and so on.
Two weekends ago I decided I wanted to cook fried chicken. I felt like it was one of those staples that Southern women should just know how to prepare for lunch on a Sunday afternoon after church, so that's what I did. With the help of KS, who stayed hard at work making homemade biscuits, I made fried chicken in a cast-iron skillet, how God intended. It fried and then baked for an additional length of time which made it more crunchy and delicious.
Thankfully we cooked an entire chicken for just the two of us, along with mashed potatoes and the biscuits covered in honey butter. We even listened to a nice mix of country music the entire time and wore our favorite aprons, which should really complete the vision of domesticity in your head right now.
This past weekend it was decided that we would eat over at KR and MK's place. I was set on using their grill and decided that it was as good a time as any to learn how to grill steak. My dad makes amazing food from the grill so I consulted him on a marinade and got my shopping list together.
KR helped me light the grill and after turning on the gas and the knobs, as per instructions, we still managed to create a small atomic bomb-like explosion of fire as the grill roared to life. Eyebrows were thankfully spared. KR, AV, KS, BF and I enjoyed a night in and had dips, roasted garlic on crostini, filet mignon and Gruyere-Parmesan scalloped potatoes. KS also made us Sidecars (which were a hit, thanks for my friend CT's recipe) and KR made Nutella cupcakes which completed our decadent meal.
I bought a dining table for our front room tonight (thank you, Craigslist) and plan to add some cute covered chairs with it, so you'll hear about more dinner parties soon.
This past weekend it was decided that we would eat over at KR and MK's place. I was set on using their grill and decided that it was as good a time as any to learn how to grill steak. My dad makes amazing food from the grill so I consulted him on a marinade and got my shopping list together.
KR helped me light the grill and after turning on the gas and the knobs, as per instructions, we still managed to create a small atomic bomb-like explosion of fire as the grill roared to life. Eyebrows were thankfully spared. KR, AV, KS, BF and I enjoyed a night in and had dips, roasted garlic on crostini, filet mignon and Gruyere-Parmesan scalloped potatoes. KS also made us Sidecars (which were a hit, thanks for my friend CT's recipe) and KR made Nutella cupcakes which completed our decadent meal.
I bought a dining table for our front room tonight (thank you, Craigslist) and plan to add some cute covered chairs with it, so you'll hear about more dinner parties soon.
Explosions will henceforth be kept to a minimum... people start talking when someone singes an eyebrow.
Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.
-Harriet Van Horne
1 comment:
This all sounds delicious, especially considering all the food requirements you had to take into consideration to get it done!
I say buy the denim leggings, as long as you have shirts long enough for them. I'm pretty into mine, I've decided, even if my best friend told me I shouldn't wear them in public...
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