Cooking Away From Home

Allow me a moment for a personal revelation that has nothing to do with food...
I have a new found admiration, respect and general sense of awe for writers. I had no clue the discipline it would take to write creatively and often.  Lets face it, my puny food journal doesn't even begin to float up to the literary heights of say... a homemade comic book or Sally Smiths 8th grade paper on the demise of the dinosaurs.  Props out to those creative masterminds who apply their talent, determination and put pen to paper every day.  My genius? Give me a pot, six ingredients and someone to cook for and I will bang out a meal worthy of a passing mouthful.
Cooking away from home presents a set of challenges not faced in ones own kitchen.  Take for example two separate evenings spent cooking in two different kitchens for people I care greatly about and whose company I wish I had more often.
Night one took place a few weeks ago up in Bath at our friends Ken and Kathy Brill's house.  Simply calling it a "house" doesn't do justice to the complete overhaul they both did to this unique ship captains quarters complete with turn of the century elevator, butlers pantry, and about 50 fireplaces replete with amazing carved mantles which were adorned with beautiful artwork.
The challenge this night was to plan a menu that would allow for little or no cooking/prep time  so that we could enjoy a full tour of the house.  I envisioned our evening unfolding like an episode of Curb Appeal - meets this Old House - meets Dr. Doolittle.  Our friends welcomed the addition of our two dogs as dinner guests and company for their two dogs who made for a lively greeting as we all settled in for pre-house tour drinks.

Dinner prep and assembly began back in Gorham around 2:00 that afternoon and by 4:00 everything was packed uncooked into the car for our ride to Bath.
On the menu: Lasagna Bolognese with fresh local mozzarella, foccacia bread, arugula salad with candied pecans, sliced grapes dressed with sherry vinaigrette.  Before we started the house tour I popped the 50lb pan of Italian rapture into their gleaming oven just hoping the sauce wouldn't boil over into a smoking mess.

Carving out a Slice

Lasagna Brick that could double for a cornerstone at the Portland Museum of Art

Plated and Ready for the Dining Room

The Perfect Setting

 The second evening took place last Friday night at the house of my dearest friend Pam down in the fair hamlet of Arundel.  The challenge here was:

A. It was a Friday night after a long week of work, I had to pick up food and commute down to Arundel

B. Pam has the reputation of being a healthy eater who tends to be picky about things like  mayonnaise, salad dressings, sauces, ambrosia, liver-n-onions and sandwiches with their crusts cut off.

C. I really wanted Chinese take out

The compromise was to dash into Whole Foods after work and pick up the first 6 things I could lay my hands on:

1. Red/Yellow/Orange Peppers

2 Organic Lentils

3. Local Feta Cheese

4. Local Organic Breakfast Sausage 

5.  Humus flavored with Artichokes & Calamata Olives

6.  Sea Salted Chocolate Caramels

The result: Stuffed Peppers with items 1-4 plus whatever I could find in Pam's pantry

Fetching and Colorful Peppers

Hey Mikey...She Liked It!

But friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life, and thanks to a benevolent arrangement the greater part of life is sunshine.
Thomas Jefferson

Thanks Ken, Kathy and Pam for letting me cook in your kitchens.

Love You

T