And speaking of how time flies ….
Yesterday was the going-away party for one of my librarian friends. He’s moving back east – he’s also from Pittsburgh – to work at Longwood Gardens, a botanical park in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, built with DuPont money. I’m starting to worry that it’s the beginning of an exodus; it’s looking like he’s not going to be the only one of my friends moving to that part of the world. My BFF, Rach, just got engaged to her out of town boyfriend. He’s the head of the art department SUNY Ulster. They haven’t set a date, but I don’t think they’re going to continue the long-distance thing till he retires, which won’t be for at least 10 years. Meanwhile, Rachael’s sister’s in Albany, her little brother’s in Pittsburgh, and mom has retired to Vermont.
The going-away party was at this fabulous country house. I’d been there only once before, for the 50th birthday party for the guy who’s leaving’s now ex. I made a big platter of deviled eggs, arranged in a nest of sprouts and micro greens. I also made the appetizer where you spread creamy cheese on foucaccia, and top it with pesto & roasted red peppers. I used bought pizza crusts, a mix of mascarpone, goat & cream cheese, and the last of jar of last summer’s pesto from the freezer. The guest of honor wanted a strawberry cake. I considered two recipes – one from a soul food restaurant, published in Saveur, with strawberry jam and extract – not a fresh strawberry in sight; and this one from Gourmet, a yogurt cake with a white glaze, and a raspberry current sauce. The sauce was supposed to be cooked and sieved; I skipped the cooking, and mashed strawberries with sugar and a squish of lime juice and decorated the top of the cake with strawberry halves.
Today, I made a brunch: Blueberry pancakes, Bacon & sausage & vegetarian sausage, that asparagus salad I’ve been obsessing over, cooked asparagus salad with a mayonaise-y dressing, grated hard boiled egg, toasty, garlic-y breadcrumbs. This time I even had chives to sprinkle over, because I got a nice bunch in my first CSA box, along with soem of the asparagus. And rhubarb – I made rhubarb sauce, as an additional pancake topping and/or Greek yogurt with rhubarb sauce – yum.
Pictures? no pictures, they all got away except for the funeral home sign.
