Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th? Who cares! I ain't superstitious. In fact, I think its bad luck to be superstitious!

Got home, happy it was Friday (even if it was Friday the 13th) First thing I did was to put the water lily, which had wintered over in a plastic bag in the front hall closet, back in the reflecting pool. Oddly enough, even though it was in a bag, in the dark and in the cold, it has 6-inch red shoots growing!

Filled the bird feeder, then came back in and changed my clothes, ready to get to work. Jeremy, Jyl, Joe and Riese are coming over tomorrow, to celebrate a belated birthday (back in March) for Jyl. Not knowing what a proper present might be, I volunteered to cook "anything" she wanted for her birthday. Her requested menu was:

Appetizer

New England clam chowder with thick, crusty rolls

Main Entr�es

Cedar-planked Salmon for the adults
Cheeseburgers for the kids

Side Dishes

Puff pastries filled with garlicky mashed potatoes
Italian broccoli casserole (please, use sour cream if recipe calls for mayo)
French fries

So, tonight, I am prepping the food.

Baked the casserole except for the last 10 minutes, where I add the Parmesan cheese and Italian bread crumbs and bake it until golden brown on top. When cool, it went into the fridge.

Made the New England clam chowder (a CaptainK specialty, if you remember), up to the point where you add the clams and cook it for two minutes more. Again, it's in the fridge.

I cooked and mashed the garlic-mashed potatoes that are the filling for the puff pastry dough, and put them in the fridge as well.

Peeled and cut the French fries on the mandoline, then put them on ice and in the fridge (you're supposed to do that anyway for at least two hours).

Please note: I have violated my own rule here. I normally NEVER serve ANYTHING I have not made before and tasted and approved in the CaptainK test kitchen. Oh well, we will all be taking a chance on this, I guess.

It was almost 10:00 PM when I got around to my own dinner. Too tired to be cool, I just grilled some hot dogs on the two-burner grille pan, and ate them on sourdough bread with mustard.

Went and watched the taped Friday Night Fights. Fell asleep before they ended.