Day 26 - My First Dinner for Guests

Beef Stew (pg. 136)

served with egg noodles

Celery Root Remoulade (pg. 243)

Apple Crisp (again) for dessert

A Loaf of Bread-Machine Bread

Nibbles:

Cranberry Chevre on Pita Crackers

Warmed Olives

Salami

Tangerines

We had our neighbors over for dinner to thank them for taking care of our cats while we were in New Mexico. And because we like them and enjoy their company.

Following along in the Slow Cooking chapter, I made Beef Stew. Part of the cooking liquid was the sauce left over from last night's braised chicken legs. Talk about layering flavors! How much more complex can you get?! The wine part of the liquid was a Two Buck Chuck reduction. Can't say I've seen that on any menus anywhere. Anyway, it was excellent. I had a hard time keeping the stew from boiling in the oven; had to bring the temperature all the way down to 200 at the end. Nonetheless, the stew was excellent.

I used the celery root I bought at Andronico's in Berkeley for the remoulade. It was also very good and went well with the stew. I actually julienned the whole thing with my trusty knife. It wasn't as difficult as I had thought it was going to be. I guess my knife skills are improving. Or at least my knife confidence is increasing.

I also made a load of bread in my bread machine. Not an artisan french loaf, but good anyway. Just plain white bread with a couple handfuls of Quaker oats thrown in. Honestly, I love my bread machine. I made another pan of apple crisp, this time with mostly braeburns. Topped with creme fraiche. To die for.

Nibbles were slightly upscale. Cranberry chevre on pita crackers, salami, warmed olives and tangerines. There was wine, too, which I guess was good. Randy was in charge and I'm not much into the stuff, except for my Two Buck Chuck reduction.

Randy had his MRI for his knee today and sees his doc tomorrow. Some days he can walk and some days he can't.

Jim the appliance repair guy came and fixed the dryer door. Again. Hope we've got that problem straightened out now.

I ate too much. I'm tired. I literally cooked all day starting at about 8:30 a.m, although I did get some studio unpacking in early in the morning. Yippee! Every box counts!

19 recipes cooked; 286 recipes yet to explore