Pecan pie (not another H&S moment - I promise)

October 31, 2009

"Oh, this is what I love," I said to Jeremy, clapping me hands with a big smile on my face. "I know you do Abby. I've got the manual on you," he said. There are moments in my life that are so fulfilling, I can hardly stand it. Last night produced quite a few of those for me. Might I share with you?

My former supervisor at work, Ford, and his wife Marie came over for dinner last night. Ford retired in August, and I hadn't seen him since his last day of work. Ford is one of the most gentle souls I know, and he and Marie together, well let's just say I hope that Jeremy and I are as simpatico as they are when we've been married forty years.

So hostessing and entertaining is a huge pleasure for me. And quite honestly, since my illness, it has become much less stressful. It used to be that if we were having people over for dinner I would more likely than not end up with a tension headache during the dinner. I worried about the cleanliness of my home, the timing of all the food being ready, etc., etc. But something happened to me when, during my hospitalization, people were in and out of my house all the time without me being there. I realized on a very deep level that what people care about is me. It's not my house or my food or anything else. That realization has really affected me in a positive way.

So it was with a relaxed effort that I prepared for the dinner last night. On Wednesday evening I buttered and brown-sugared the butternut squash and baked it till it was tender. I scooped the flesh out and saved it in the fridge until Friday night. Thursday morning during my morning off from work I mixed and rested my pie crust dough, then gently battled with it as I formed it into a very homemade looking crust. I beat together the eggs and sugar and Karo and pecans and then filled the house with the scent of warm pecan pie as I set the table. Little tiger pumpkins, green apples and candles ran in a row down the center of the table as my centerpiece. It was all coming together in my mind and I could hardly wait!

Jeremy is always in charge of the music rotation when we have company, and I love it! He and I are in sink about the mood we want to set. Sam Cooke, Neil Halstad, Tom Waits, The Cheyenne Mize and Bonnie Prince Billy, and Dean Martin took turns crooning out tunes as I began chopping the Granny Smiths for the apple salad and Jeremy lit the fire and the candles throughout the house. A quick phone call to mom: "I thought you were having company tonight," she said as she answered the phone. "I am. I don't have much time to talk, but I wanted to know what's your ratio of mayonnaise to sugar in the dressing you make for your salad?" She laughed and told me. I whipped together the dressing and added a touch of cinnamon. The walnuts were toasting in the oven. I could smell them. Oops! They were burning just a touch - time to pull them out! I tossed together the apples, walnuts, and dressing and then added a little feta cheese and set the dish in the fridge.

Ford and Marie arrived just as I was slicing the bread for the bruschetta. Jeremy opened a bottle of Shiraz and a bottle of Pinot Grigio and we all sipped our wine as we chatted while I brushed the bread with olive oil and a little garlic salt while simultaneously browning onions in olive oil and adding the ginger and chicken stock. "I think we should toast adoption," Marie said as she raised her glass. "Oh I think that's a great idea!" We all clicked glasses and began excitedly talking about the adventure Jeremy and I were embarking on. I interrupted the talk with the noise of the food processor as I put the final components of the butternut squash soup together. A dollop of sour cream in the middle and a dusting of ground up flax seed and we were ready to sit down to dinner.

We sat and ate and talked and drank. After our meal we moved to the other half of the room and sat in front of the warmth of the fireplace and talked some more. I plated the pecan pie and brewed a pot of fresh coffee. We laughed and ate and shared some more. Oh it was just all so relaxing and good. These are the moments . . . the very fulfilling moments. And I just wanted to share because most of the time I use this blog to sort through all the tough stuff, but it isn't always tough. There is richness and pleasure and pecan pie!!