The Art of Dressing for Dinner
Eat. Me.
I greet this Saturday with drool on my pillow, dreams of delectable dishes chasing across my starved palate. Will 6:30 this evening EVER get here?
All day long, MTM will be torturing my nostrils with aromas. Simmering scents. Nuanced perfumes. Earthy smells. The four burners of the gas stove will work my abused senses into a foaming froth of longing, MTM’s stirring ladle a paddle to slap my greedy hands away from the morsels cooking there.
Bill and Cheryl Smithem are coming over for dinner tonight, one of those lingering affairs, multiple courses where we sit around the table and gab to a soundtrack of mood music, flickering firelight, and heaping piles of orgiastic food. For the balance of my Saturday, I will do everything I can to distract my craven stomach, bewitched by MTM’s culinary voodoo.
I will check the mail.
And taste a sauce.
I will select table linens, ironing them to a starched sheen.
And use that work to justify an oozing snack of something brewing.
I will straighten my desk.
And let my fingers stray into a sampling bowl of deliciousness.
I might sneak in a nap.
And awake to a sliver of scented joy, preening aromatically on the table beside me.
Dang. Just penning this post made me famished. I hope Bill and Cheryl don’t notice it when they arrive to find that I have stuffed myself into a stupor.
My car could use a wash job….there may be a bag of Cheetos in it for you.
Cheetos will be a part of our high-falutin’ dinner. Not that I couldn’t eat them multiple times a day………..
I do not believe your car is dirty, Lou.
Danged…I just ate my monthly ration of Cheetos last night while waiting for dinner…of course, I can work on next month’s portion…of crack, uh, I mean Cheetos
They will be a garnish in the meal, not front-and-center, Cheryl. Though, if I can buy a bigger bag…………..
No, a bigger bag in NOT needed. (Though the Piggly Wiggly has them on sale BOGO.) They are my local dealer of choice for crack, uh, I mean Cheetos. I do not need access to more!
Nothing would likely remain by the time you got here. My hand goes into that bag until it’s empty.
Hey, if you are washing cars, I will see Lou’s Cheetos and raise him a Chic-Fil-A sandwich and some waffle fries!
Have a fun and semi geeky dinner.
You know the way to my heart, Carnell.
Looking forwars to seeing the pics and hearing the menu. Have a great evening.
Forward (obviously). I hate commenting using a telephone!
I feel your frustration…..trying to learn to type on a tablet when one has used only a typewriter or keyboard for more than 50 years is painful!
Whew! For a second there I thought you had gone war mongering on us.
I type the most embarrassing things from my phone. I’ve turned off autocorrect, but I can still type the most obnoxious errors.
Happens to me all the time.
Earlybird, your tart will be on the menu, in altered form. I will cover it tomorrow or Monday here, depending upon how things go.
Too bad we don’t have some of that cicada soda to go with it………
Napkin, please . . .
Made a big pot of chili yesterday (trying to combat the dregs of winter), and that will likely be the sum total of my culinary contributions for a while.
Karen, I really adore good chili. We don’t make it around here, because MTM doesn’t eat beef, and I need some meat in my chili. And cheese. Lots of cheese.
Wish I were close enough to try some of yours. I bet it’s fabulous.
When I was a vegetarian, I found that a very tasty pot of chili could be made using textured soy. There were several bases I used to buy that made me think there was meat in them, and for the life of me I can’t remember them anymore.
I’m sure some variants of tofu could work, but I want hamburger.
I offer NO guarantees. It’s never the same thing twice!. And now I’m experimenting with very lean beef and “alternative” spices in attempts to keep the fat and sodium contents lower–even considerably more chili powder than usual didn’t satisfy me this time around. Nothing wrong with it, mind you, but not “right” either. If our cold weather hangs on long enough I may give it another shot in a few weeks. You’d probably have to bring your own cheese for adding here, as I’m eating very little of that anymore (that fat/sodium thing rearing it’s ugly head again).
It sound like the way I make stock. It’s never the same thing twice, either. I just throw a bunch of things in the pot.
I like some cayenne in chili.
We are honored to be able to put our feet under your table.
I might have to bring a surprise (even though you’ve said not to bring anything…) and the surprise might involve a man of high rank in the navy.
https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRLNQ26GQ7_odf32ZCQhKk3JcoBuI7jaaVeKJVcKGdProE2PIiu
Valiant attempt Lou!
Oh Lord. Donald Duck at our house would make quite a statement………
Yummy! Sounds delectable! Enjoy the wonderful food and lovely company.
I hope you’re having an awesome Saturday, Lori.
If you’ve eaten yourself into a stupor, then that’s better for them, right? More food for everybody else?
Not if I’ve eaten half of it before it makes it to the table……..
This is well written, as ever, but I must tell you… I knew there must be mysteries like this in private homes all over Charleston, ever since I first had the decadent ‘shrimp and grits’ dish there at Hank’s one night, a couple of years ago. In Nashville we have the occasional shrimp (arrives by airplane) and we obviously have stand-alone grits, but it’s just not the same as your ‘shrimp-n-grits’ (I do believe you pronounce as one word in the Lowcountry, yes?)
We’re not having shrimp-n-grits (one word, yes) tonight, but I do love it. MTM makes the best version of it I’ve ever eaten, so much better, in fact, that I cannot even order it in restaurants now. When I get a craving, I just request it at home.
We enjoy having dinner parties very much. We used to throw elaborate ones with ten or twelve guests. We loved doing it, but it was a lot of work and expense. Now, we prefer having another couple or two. If you can work it out to be in Charleston again with Marsha (Marcia – I’ve never seen you spell her name), we’ll have you over.
I sense the need for a cook off… Cheryl makes the best shrimp-n-grits I’ve ever eaten.
Marsha and I would cheerfully accept!
Bill, you aren’t having shrimp-n-grits tonight, but we should definitely put a cook-off on the calendar. I’d gladly sample each.
Just let us know when you’re here next, Keel.
Food seems to be a central theme for today!
Enjoy your decadent and delight-filled INDULGENCE!
MTM’s in there now making wasabi ice cream. Indulgence or just plain stupid…….we shall see………
Oh, I’m anxious to hear how the ice cream tasted. Talk about running HOT and COLD at the same time . . . maybe the wasabi will melt the ice cream.
Nancy, if you make the ice cream recipe we link to in Sunday’s post, add about four times as much wasabi as the recipe calls for. It was still not spicy enough for me, and we doubled the wasabi this recipe calls for.
ah, delicious indulgence – hope you still have room for dinner, it sounds heavenly…
I haven’t snacked all day. Too busy making dessert and helping.
Andra, have I read this right: does MTM cook this well? I am envious indeed, and the way you wrote about anticipating the meal was hilarious and masterfully done.
Enjoy the meal, all
MTM is indeed a mahvelous Chef!!
Next time he come’s over we shall simply invite him over and give him the run of the kitchen!
MTM is an accomplished cook. He loves cooking for people. He made shrimp and grits for our English friends when we were there last.
You are a truly blessed woman, Andra Watkins.
Incidentally, MTM is a truly blessed man…
I think I’m the luckier of the two. Lots of frogs tend to shine a brighter light on the prince.
What a lovely evening! As I write you are finally enjoying your meal with delighted friends! I love an evening with good friends. We should all take the time to prepare for guests and share our time so abundantly! Debra
It was divine. Delectable. I cannot move……..
The food, going by the beautiful words, must have been delicious. Talk about building up to dinner…
It was a tasty repast, Subhakar.
Great opening!
Thanks.
I’m reading this as I down my very eclectic salad(roasted brussels and butternut squash) whilst I get my “gourmet” popcorn bowl ready for tonight’s show (Oscars). Roll your eyes, but I actually like what is on your plate! Lucky you to have a cook!!
The arugula salad would be fine for you, except for the goat cheese. What is “gourmet” popcorn? Do you season it with something special?