Two very successful eating occasions. Last night I had seven people for a meal. One of the people was Jane Frances. She is a wonderful guest. She told stories about her parents in law which had all of us on the floor laughing. Nothing unkind, I hasten to add; just anecdotes about the trials and tribulations of growing old.
I had six people for lunch today and it was equally successful. These were neighbours, people I see all the time but I have not had them for a meal before. I was very clever. I had an Italian meal last night and almost exactly the same for lunch today. Essentially one shopping trip and one planning list. This sort of thing is very easy and very impressive. The starter is a plate of antipasti all of which is bought in its bits and pieces. A couple of Italian garlic breads go along with. Then, the pasta. For eight people I use 1000 gms of fresh pasta which is quick cooking and I serve it with tomato or basil pesto. After the pasta is the main course which can be anything. I had chicken both times and I serve it with a Caesar salad. Finally, pudding (dessert) which could be tiramisu but I had apple crumble last night and cheesecake today. Lots of red and white wine and 'Bob's your uncle'. This meal is low on prep but hight on dishes. It's very impressive. The only meal that I do which might be equally impressive is a full on roast beef dinner which involves the meat, the roast potatoes, the Yorkshire pudding and the gravy. Timing is of the essence and my oven is too small.
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