I was so irritated when I accessed my journal to find it empty of yesterday's contribution. Then....stupid! I found not one but two copies of the following in the recipe's section. I'm going to try to clean this up - just as I did my little home. Here goes................
All in all, it was a good weekend. I managed to nicely clean the "public" parts of my home. This means that all extraneous items were tossed into my bedroom for later attention. Hasn't happened yet.
The dinner party went well; I think that my guests enjoyed both repast and company. We started simply - just some lovely merlot (Santa Rita from Chile) and cashews. I put the broccoli and cauliflower salad on the table (really, the desk) and Joan and Valerie soon served themselves while I finished up in the kitchen. Thank heavens for Felicia! She was sweet enough to call me back after I had left a frantic message on her voice mail. Her recipe for oven roasted potatoes is so simply and produces a delicious side dish. The ladies were particularly happy with the potatoes. I culled Margaret's asparagus technique from memory being sure to snap the stalks just so. Mother always said that one of the signs of a good cook is to be able to synchronize the process so that everything is ready at the same time. By that standard, I am a good cook. The beef tenderloin, sauteed in butter, olive oil, mushrooms and some of the aforementioned Santa Rita merlot, was succulent; the asparagus was crunchy tender after being sauteed/steamed to perfection; the potatoes were crispy and flavorful after being roasted in Mrs. Knorr's onion soup and olive oil.
We enjoyed more red wine and then settled into a simple dessert - Starbuck's Coffee Almond Fudge ice cream that is rich and decadent. I had found an interesting liqueur type drink at the Exchange called KeKe - supposed to taste like key lime pie. It was on special so I bought a bottle. I offered it to the ladies with a club soda mixer - delicious. That was when Joan said that her friend, who is a drink designer, had created the KeKe.
This afternoon I have an appointment with a podiatrist - hammer toes are giving me difficulty. Also, I'm studying for the first exam in microeconomics that is scheduled for tomorrow night. After that, I can concentrate on my anticipated trip to Houston for the twins graduation party and Margaret's photography exhibit and memory-making time with those I love the best.
I have been sufficiently chastised for my failures to "blog". Deservedly, too.
Life has been busy if not very exciting. Last weekend was another Navy one for me. I was so proud that four of my junior Sailors have been advanced to Hospital Corpsman, Third Class. HM is a competitive rating; it's not easy to "make rate". It is amazing that four of them did. Much of the weekend was devoted to training so that the other enlisted will have a good shot at advancement. It becomes more and more difficult to get advanced the higher up the advancement ladder one goes. Passing bi-annual advancement examinations with a sufficiently high score is required.
I have invited two friends (?) from work to have dinner at my little apartment on Saturday night. One of them, Joan, had plans to spend the time with her challenged sister, Monica, that night. I told Joan that Monica is welcome, too. Monica's developmental level is that of a teenager, 14 - 16, so I think the evening will go just fine. Valerie, the other person, took care of my two cats during the three weeks that I performed active duty at Bethesda in March. She will extend herself again during my Memorial Day trip to Houston for both the twin's graduation party and Margaret's photo exhibit.
I found a great deal on beef tenderloin and bought enough for the group. I worried about how I was going to cook them since my broiler smokes up the entire apartment - no time to clean it at this late date. So, I did a practice run after seeking recipes in my ancient Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. I did a version of Steak Diane - a really scaled-down version because I simply sauteed the meat in butter for three minutes on each side. It was perfect, tender and moist. For dinner preparation, I will add some lovely red wine to the saute' pan and concoct some sort of a mushroom sauce.
Fresh asparagus, also a great buy at $.99 a pound, will be a wonderful accompaniment. Margaret has advised me of mistake-proof preparation for that. I thought that oven-roasted potatoes would be nice. Margaret also said that Felicia is a champ when it comes to oven-roasted potatoes, so I will call on her help, too. I don't want to make a big deal out of this get-together but since I rarely invite others for dinner, or for anything else for that matter, I find myself getting nervous. I hosted a dinner party once. As far as I was concerned, it was a disaster. I was a wreck and had a terrible time. Saturday presents a much smaller event so everything should be okay. Dessert is going to be simple - Lemon Sherbet with fresh blueberries. Actually, Kruschev (bad spelling - was head of Russia during the sixties) was served this by the Kennedys during a State dinner - maybe it was lunch. It is a lovely, light dessert.
My grades from last trimester couldn't be better and I am so pleased. On May sixth, we started the Spring/Summer trimester with only one subject that is compressed into two, three-hour classes a week for eight weeks. Microeconomics for Health Care is the challenge for the next six weeks. I think that this is doable but we haven't really gotten into any formulas yet.