Suppah Six

A cold night calls for comfort food.  Dory served in a supervisory capacity as she recovers, so I took the reins as executive chef.  Glazed Meatloaf, mashed potatoes and green beans - all American comfort food after a long work week! It was just the right amount ... with enough left over for a meatloaf sandwich.

No PD this week. Dory had an operation on her bum fin - get well soon! – so, we gave her the week off. I think we will pressure her to return next week, as crutches are no excuse for laziness. Bubbles and I pick the menu and Dory is head chef. Every meal has a protein and starch. We generally have salad, but sometimes we add a hot veg, depends on the mood. Frizz and C-pap supply all salad and Frizz is the salad chef. It is perfect job for her as she cuts the vegetables into beautifully equal pieces and always gets the best fresh stuff. We make sure to have an assortment of dressings ("Holy Dressings!") and toppings. One new favorite they found is a yummy Caesar and we also love Paul Newman's. We set up the salad buffet and everyone gets to build their own perfect bowl. Some skip the olives, others skip the blue cheese... we allow for lots of independent expression - since the main course is decided  without an opinion survey!

Today we are traveling "up'ta" camp! Squirt's family generously allows us to visit their beautiful home near Sugarloaf. We will eat, drink, take walks, read and play some Wii. Such fun. Since we will be eating some fast food en route, there will be little worthy of description. Instead some PD basics... We live in an old house. The kitchen cabinet for dinner plates is on an exterior wall. This cabinet gets pretty chilly in winter, so we warm the plates on the radiator. Regular rotating to get them all consistently toasty helps ensure our delicious food does not get cold from immediate contact with freezing stoneware.

Dory was traveling back from (not so) Hotlanta this Friday (our hometown!), so I stepped in to feed and water... Crockpot Enchiladas from Paula Deen was the solution. Pretty simple... brown and season some ground beef, layer it in a Crockpot with tortillas, cheese and chili sauce. it certainly doesn't equal some of the amazing flavors we have enjoyed before, but Frizz opened the bar for margaritas, so we all enjoyed ourselves, despite our missing companions.

Friday, 01 January 2010 Recipe from Cook's County Review: fanastic might be one of best PD's ever

New Year's Resolution... blog about Pity Dinner. Our tradition is that Friday nights, we gather for yummy meals. It started when Squirt was off at school in Florida and Bubbles and I "took pity" on Dory for dinner companionship at the end of the week. Once C-Pap and Frizz moved to Maine, they joined in and soon we were the Super Six! Dory travels often for work, so we skip some weeks, but if the chef is available... G Street hosts a weekly gathering of great food and loads of laughs. 2010 will be the year I share the photos and "reviews".