What the Last Couple of Weeks Have Shown

It isn't that I haven't been cooking; indeed I have been cooking more during the week than in a long time and trying new recipes. This was inspired by the fact that our pickiest eater had gone to college thus leaving me free to abandon blander, predictable dishes. Sadly, although all were "fine" (surely "fine" must be one of the most negative of positive words when applied to a meal) none were so good that we saved the leftovers or thought we'd like to have it again.

However, in the midst of all this I still have managed to snatch a choice victory.

I always have read those "emergency meal" suggestions for when people drop by with a great deal of skepticism. Do people really "drop by" at mealtime like that? None of our acquaintances seem to ever do it. That is, no one ever had until Hannah invited the few friends who hadn't left for college over at dinnertime. This was unbeknownst to me and as person after person suddenly came through the door I was seized with panic. I had planned dinner for four, not for eight. Especially not with most of them being teenagers.

I sliced the four kielbasa thinly and put them to cook in a skillet with some water that came up about 1/4 of the way up the slices. When the water had cooked off, enough fat had rendered from the sausages to allow the slices to brown. Our baked potatoes were mashed with plenty of milk and butter. A couple of packages of frozen corn and a 2 pound bag of frozen green beans were put to good use. Finally, some skillet cornbread finished up the menu. We even had cake since Hannah's birthday had been celebrated the night before.

Simple but toothsome. Everyone had plenty to eat and I felt unaccountably proud.

Tags:Food