![\"\"](\"https:\/\/debslunch.com\/debslunchblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/rockyhorses.jpg\" "\\"Rocky")
<\/a>Little rocking horses from the baby shower cake.<\/p><\/div>
\nLast night, in the midst of a torrential downpour, I entertained 17 ladies for a baby shower. I knew that it was going to be a somewhat alternative-type affair, but I didn’t know how alternative till I got there. They were all Hospice Care workers, and the mom-to-be is single – no dad in the picture.<\/p>\n
I was late, every street in Madison is dug up right now, the weather was bad, and the traffic was really heavy – I was creeping around on side streets to avoid the congestion at major intersections that are full of orange barrels, workers, sewer pipes, and big holes in the ground. I got a few blocks into the drive, and realized I had forgotten the chips – and the menu kind of revolved around chips & dip – so I had to go back for them. When we were planning, I asked what the mom-to-be was craving and the word was potato chips and meat. So the menu was:<\/p>\n
Asian flavors marinated beef lettuce wraps<\/em> – sirloin steak strips on wooden skewers, served with lettuce leaves and\u00a0 a couple of dipping sauces – I used this Korean beef recipe<\/a> from the NYT, but I did not put the Asian pear in the marinade; and I made this peanut sauce<\/a> from Gourmet that was utterly delicious<\/p>\n Gourmet potato chips with several dips<\/em> –\u00a0 caramelized onion dip (a la 101 Cookbooks<\/a>, but I don’t save out the onions for topping, I just mix them all in), dill dip<\/a> –<\/p>\n Lots of\u00a0 veggies to go with the dips: carrots, Romano green beans & broccoli, lightly blanched, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, and peppers<\/em><\/p>\n Warm pita wedges<\/em>, grilled on my Mario Batalli paninni press – with sets of toppings<\/em>:\u00a0 Cafe Flora<\/a> curried\u00a0 lentil spread, & chutney – that was the last of some homemade apricot chutney mixed into Patak’s sweet mango – the ladies loved the ginger sauce; and tomato bruschetta topping – good farmers market tomatoes with basil from the back porch, garlic, Balsamic & olive oil, with Trader Joe’s olivada, too<\/p>\n Potato salad <\/em>with celery from my CSA box, and egg, and radishes sliced on top for garnish<\/p>\n Chunks of cantaloupe and watermelon<\/em><\/p>\n Iced tea\/juice blends\u00a0 (black tea-lemonade & berry-white grape<\/em>)<\/p>\n When I finally got there, they’d been let in, and good caring professions workers that they all are, were adaptable and ready to help. We got the tablecloths under<\/em> the decorations they’d brought & laid out on the tables, and I had them help me set out plates and glasses and napkins, and make water pitchers, so I could dump dips & chips into bowls and broil the beef and cut the fruit and ice the tea.<\/p>\n They’d come prepared with some good ice breakers like making everyone cut a piece of string they thought would fit around mom-to-be’s belly – with prizes for the best guess. Pretty soon they were all laughing so hard I could barely hear the hurricane sirens going off. I had to go upstairs to consult with my renter’s boyfriend who had a computer on, to see if we should head for the basement – we decided we’d be OK above ground.<\/p>\n While I was cleaning up, John texted me the picture of the Escalade going into a sinkhole in Milwaukee – they got hit harder than us – but I still had to sop up water in the basement when I got home. I tried using mom’s old wet & dry shop vac, and it worked pretty well – the biggest downside is that it’s old and dirty, so once the water goes through the filter to the inside, it’s filthy. I think I’ll get a new filter for it tomorrow – seems a good Saturday kind of thing to do.<\/p>\n After drying the basement up, time to change the sheets on my bed, so Eric<\/a>, our friend in from Notre Dame to give a talk at WiLSWorld<\/a>, who couldn’t fly out in all the weather, could sleep in it. No time to have a glass of white wine and some stinky cheese and remember mom – the airlines got Eric on a flight leaving at 5:30 Friday morning, so he couldn’t stay up and toast her with me. I ended up having a glass f red, but too close to bedtime for me, too, and I felt it in the a.m.<\/p>\n It was funny, or ironic, or something,\u00a0 to be around the Hospice workers when mom died on the same day 6 years ago under their care – but I think these were all paid types, and the woman who was with us that morning was a volunteer – she wasn’t in attendance at the shower, anyhow.<\/p>\n Today I stopped by the house, and there are still bedraggled pink baby shower bows tied to the front banisters – it was raining too hard to take them off last night, and no one’s got around to it yet today.<\/p>\n \n Esacalde in a sinkhole in Milwaukee<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Last night, in the midst of a torrential downpour, I entertained 17 ladies for a baby shower. I knew that it was going to be a somewhat alternative-type affair, but I didn’t know how alternative till I got there. 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