20 April 2024
I had a wonderful night last night. Tom and Kurt came over for a swim, cocktails, and dinner. That’s the first dinner “party” I’ve hosted since Wade pretty much did everything on Thanksgiving – and before that – probably since the pandemic. I forgot what a good time I had hosting people over at the house.
Tom is fridge-a-phobic so I cranked the heater on the pool to 94 degrees (normally 84) and it was kinda like a hot tub. Even I admit it was nice. The new handrail came in, shall we say, handy – for all three of us.
I made them martinis with a vodka from the Ukraine. I have no idea where I got that – it had to be a gift to me. Tom and Kurt brag on me at the bars in Wilton Manors and tell everyone I make the best martinis. When they ask what I do differently, he can’t say. What I do is crush the ice that I chill the glasses with and shake the martinis with. Then I pour a tad of Vermouth into each glass instead of water. When I get ready to fill the glass with martini, I toss the ice and Vermouth in the glass. It just gives a hint of Vermouth. That could be it but I suspect it also has something to do with my martinis being free.
For dinner, I roasted a chicken according to Ina Garten’s recipe for “Jeffrey’s Roast Chicken.” It is so easy and never fails. I did do one extra thing. Years ago I accidentally discovered that if you put okra in with the chicken in the cast iron skillet that the okra cooks in the chicken juices and become crunchy with a wonderful taste. I did almost a whole pack of okra. When I took the chicken out, I put the okra on a sheet pan and kept cooking until crispy and served that as an appetizer. Both Tom and I are from the South so it was red neck caviar to us. Even Kurt, a Yankee, liked it.
I made gravy from the chicken drippings and then made a huge bowl of rice. The chicken was perfect and the gravy was excellent. I’ll make chicken salad with the left over chicken. I’ll also be eating rice for days.
We sat outside enjoying the beautiful weather at the table that Tom and Kurt gifted me. After dinner, we sat around and had a glass of wine and talked like we haven’t in years. Tom and Kurt are early-to-bed-ers. Yet they stayed until almost 10 pm. I was tired but so happy that I felt good enough to host them.
This morning, I’m a little tired. I’ve changed the linen, put on a wash, and cleaned out the bottom of the linen closet to make room for more paper towels, Kleenex, and toilet paper. There will be no house cleaning today since I did some Wednesday and Friday. I plan to curl up with a book until 3 pm when Jimmie and I will talk.
Stay tuned!