Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Unexpected Guests

I love that the weather has finally turned warm. It's the first summer our screened porch is just for sitting and not under construction in some way.  My peace lily and mother-in-law's tongue actually survived in the overheated house and are so happy to be back where they belong. I'm pretty happy to be back out there myself.

We love to entertain out on the porch and tend to do it on the fly. Our guests don't quite drop in but often I don't have as much time to plan and cook as I like. The other weekend was the perfect example of how I managed to serve up a good meal without going nuts.

I found out my daughter was coming over for dinner Saturday night and friends Sunday. What to do?
First, I tripled my dinner ingredient list so I could use the same ingredients for two separate dinners, one hot, one cold. 
 
Off to the farmers' market, I went to get ManO his favorite of all veggies, beets. But there was a problem. After two and a half decades, my daughter hasn't forgiven me for making her sit in front of a beet for two hours until she ate it. The threat was losing Nickelodeon.  So I picked up some carrots for her, along with salad greens, strawberries and blueberries.

It's hard to believe I threatened this sweet face over eating a beet. Bad mama. 


Unfortunately, first thing when she saw the beets, dear daughter immediately took a picture and texted her brother, swearing I was trying to kill her yet again. I threatened no HGTV this time. She said the difference was she could now go home to her own apartment. Sigh.

I roasted the root veggies and asparagus in a bit of olive oil and sea salt. Man O grilled chicken.  I added some salad on the side. It was a lovely evening, topped off by strawberry shortcake.

I put the leftovers in the fridge and the next day enjoyed truly keeping Sabbath, not having to cook for my friends who happen to LOVE beets and such. Such a relaxing day.

At dinner time, I chopped up the cold grilled chicken and beets, placed them on beds of greens and asparagus.



Then I added the most delicious dressing I've made in a long time, a balsamic honey mustard. We were set for dinner.  You'll note all the ingredients from the night before are present, just in different form!


Except there was an unexpected guest.






We fussed. We threw tennis balls at him. We laughed a lot. But we didn't get too close.  He decided that three inches of birdseed before he headed off to parts unknown. And the strange thing is he hasn't been back. It was like he was our evening entertainment for one night and one night only.


 So what about you? What is the best meal you put together for unexpected guests? Do you like to double up cooking in the summer so the kitchen doesn't heat up? Do you hate beets? And what about those rascally raccoons?

Balsamic Honey Mustard Dressing

1 Tablespoon Honey
1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (or less)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
Optional:  minced garlic to taste

Blend ingredients with an immersion blender, blender or processor to make a thick dressing. Serve over veggies, salad or meat.  

25 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness. I'm coming over!! That looks delicious! And so festive on the porch with the bright tablecloth.

    Let's see... tonight we had unexpected guests. They brought three boxes of Dilly Bars (don't know if those are regional... ice cream bars). They stayed for dinner and since I was busy chatting, hubby cooked. We had simple corn tortillas with roasted pork, fresh salsa and roasted cactus on the side. The guests were good sports. And full of ice cream, so no complaining. :)

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    1. I haven't heard of Dilly Bars on the East Coast but thank to you I have already heard of roast cactus! And when ice cream is dessert, no one cares what's for dinner, at least at my house. How many times have I started a conversation with, "Dinner isn't much but there's ice cream in the freezer."

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    2. They have dilly bars at Dairy Queen. I thought they were something unique to DQ. :)

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    3. maybe Dairy Queen has branched out? Dilly Bars were our favorites at Dairy Queen as kids -my mom would eat our dilly off the top though :-( luckily not every time though but we always hated it when she did that. great now I'm wanting Dairy Queen chocolate dipped cone...
      Susanna

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    4. DQ chocolate dipped cones have always been my fave, Susanna. Of course, you know what they say. "DQ...That's what I like about Texas." :)

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    5. DQ. I can't believe they are DQ. I'm a dip cone girl myself.

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  2. Seriously, Julie, that raccoon heard you were serving beets and he shows up at your party and all you give him is birdseed? Sheesh, I wouldn't come back either!

    Thanks for the dressing recipe. I've never made my own dressing and vowed to be courageous this year and start making my own. Any idea of how long it would keep in the fridge though? Since it's only me and I can only eat so much salad in a day.

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    1. I usually keep fresh things about four days, Kav. I know what you mean. But you can also cut the recipe in half, stir with a whisk and not have as many leftovers. It will be thinner though. Or use an immersion blender if you want it thicker.

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  3. Seriously, Julie, that raccoon heard you were serving beets and he shows up at your party and all you give him is birdseed? Sheesh, I wouldn't come back either!

    Thanks for the dressing recipe. I've never made my own dressing and vowed to be courageous this year and start making my own. Any idea of how long it would keep in the fridge though? Since it's only me and I can only eat so much salad in a day.

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  4. I want, just once in my life, to sit at a table like that when it's not a wedding or a shower or some HUGE FAMILY FUNCTION.... Summer dinners around here are on the run, hurried affairs between my schedule and Dave's and it's kind of fun.... but crazy, too! Of course he'd look at that pretty table and think he needed to wash his hands..... At the very least! Julie, that's beautiful! And the raccoon is a hoot.

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    1. Like why do they even put out a chair for us at big family functions? Running off dinner for sure.

      It was great to sit a spell.

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  5. Dilly Bars are everywhere! My mom loved them the best.

    These drop by dinners sound lovely. I don't have this problem since I'm mostly anti-social and all, but I have enough that I'm sure that I could whip up something. And I dislike beets. That sweet face wouldn't have to eat any if she came by my house...:)

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    1. What? There are dilly bars in GA, the East Coast? Now I will be on the hunt.

      I will send that little critter to you straightaway!

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  6. You're so smart to make double use of the ingredients! I love beets so will try this. We have a local restaurant that puts beets on their house salad. The dressing has lavender in it. So tasty!

    Love the cute photo of your daughter! Lots of books there already. :)

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    1. I am allergic to lavender and it makes me so sad.

      Ah, dear daughter straightens her hair now but still has a pile of books to read always.

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  7. Julie, I like pickled beets, but I don't know if I've had them any other way. My husband and SIL are another story though. Several stories actually. Their mother always fixed beets because she thought they like them. In reality, they fed their beets to the cat under the table. A beet loving cat? Who knew there was such a thing.

    A few years ago, my MIL put out beets for a meal. Hubby and SIL said, "Bleck!" MIL said, "I thought you liked beets." They said, "Nope. But the cat sure did." :)

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    1. Oh, I love it. Did the cat turn purple???

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    2. Wouldn't that have been wild? Just think of the money they could have made.

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  8. Beets are a recently acquired love of mine. How could I have turned up my nose at them for so many years?

    I love the way you made one evening of cooking do double duty.

    And you have me wondering if it's too late to plant beets in the garden....I have an extra spot....

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    1. And I have a green bean story similar to your beet story.

      I concluded that trying to force our children to eat vegetables doesn't work for some of them.

      That particular child (actually adult) still won't touch anything green.

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    2. They eventually learn or starve, don't they?

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  9. I love the table and setting too! I don't have a porch :-( come to think of it I don't have a cleared table either which reminds me that once again it's cleaning day! I overslept - been so tired and used to night shift but worked mon/tues on days - last night still woke up around 2 am but back to sleep around 6 and woke up thinking I'd better get started on my day and the clock was almost 11:15! guess I really needed the sleep.
    I've really never had beets - didn't like pickled ones as ak id and one day guy at grocery store cut into one for me to munch on raw- he said they sold like crazy with all the juicers. I had purple/red all over me just from one little bitty bite! then at the organic food coop I bought a juice with beets and sipped on it all the long way home and good thing I sipped and got home when I did cause I found they work well. :-( no telling how many beets were in that bottle of juice but I bet a lot more than I thought.
    Susanna

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    1. Thanks, Susanna! I didn't like them when I was little. I am talking about juicers in a week or two. Thanks for the warning.

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  10. Dllly Bar (complete with locator!)

    http://www.dairyqueen.com/us-en/Menu/Treats/Dilly-Bar1/

    Susanna

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