Reluctant Entertainer

My friend Emma is a Tightwad. She writes the blog, Tightwad (a girl’s guide to living on less) , is a married mother of three-year-old twins, trys her best to live green, watches her pennies, walks daily, and plain ol’ keeps things simple. She loves to write and turns daily chaos into something manageable – my kind of girl!

Thank you, Emma for being my guest today!

Tightwad occasionally entertains … it was her idea to start an annual family BBQ every August, which happened last weekend. She’s house-proud so that entails some give and take; because she realizes that everything can’t be perfect, it’s impossible. So I ignore the chipped paint on our back stairs, the drooping and sad little plants in my plant beds, the mismatched patio furniture and the fact that the back yard is littered with fallen apples and overrun with kid’s toys.

Martha Stewart I’m not, but I like to think that people enjoyed themselves all the same. This is despite the fact that just as the time came for people to start arriving, my charming children wound themselves in the curtains of the guest bedroom and pulled both them and all of the accompanying hardware off the wall. Hey, what’s a party without your husband asking you where the power drill is in flush of last minute home repairs?

I think that the trick to pulling off a decent summer BBQ lies in having enough ice to keep the beers cold, and the preparation (and occasion delegation, but we’ll get to that). With this in mind I decided to crank out the salads; the kind that can be assembled the day before.

The Menu

Appetizers: Mom’s in charge (See? Delegation) fresh guacamole and blue corn chips, general nibbles.

Main: Spit roasted baron of beef, BBQ back ribs brought by friends, mixed bean salad with cilantro and red onion, potato salad with lemon and chives, tomato feta balsamic salad, roasted red peppers and roasted beet and fennel salad.

Dessert: Sister in Law (again with the delegation) came through with a shiny gold star on this one: Kashmir Cream (I know, I know, what the hell is that?) Believe me, it was DELICIOUS. It was whipped cream based, with a peach concoction that was fantastic. Recipe is forthcoming, apparently.

Bit about Hubs
In terms of preparation, the day before Hubs marinated the beef and I made the bean salad, boiled the spuds, roasted the beets and red peppers. All I had to do on the day of the party was re-toss the bean salad, add some ingredients to the potato salad and mix the beets with some white wine vinegar, olive oil and fennel. And put things in pretty bowls. The tomato salad was last minute because just as everyone was going to dig in my hubs mused that he thought there wasn’t enough food. And you know what? He was right – everything was eaten down to the last bean and last rib.

Bit about Kids
Kiddos sat and ate on a blanket; adults sat around the table and tucked in. Then we had some entertainment (kids dancing to cheesy pop music) and everyone enjoyed some coffee.

In the end, I got over the fact that the plants on the table that served as centrepieces looked dry and had dead leaves on them, or that I was pretty sure that everyone had noticed that my only serving tray was so tarnished it was hard to tell that it was actually silver. Our family was together and everyone seemed happy and full.

So, another one for the books; it’s hard to believe that a chill is in the air and school is around the corner. Guess it’s time to start planning the family Thanksgiving …

What was your last family dinner like? And do you worry about there not being enough food?

Tightwad is a blog about frugal living, being green and lots of stuff about food. It could be categorized as a lifestyle blog; I call it a distraction. Come on over to my blog today and enter to WIN a copy of Kathy Buckworth’s Shut up and Eat book!

Today’s guest post is by Kimba, from A Soft Place to Land. Thank you, Kimba, for the awesome advice to all of us who are learning to embrace our imperfections and reach out to others, through food and our homes! You are an inspiration!

Here’s Kimba …

I have a confession to make. There was a time in my life when entertaining friends and family stressed me out. A lot. And it was my own fault.

I made entertaining too complicated.

Every gathering turned into a major party, because I didn’t understand the joy that comes from connecting with just a few friends over dinner. I pulled out my fancy cookbooks and tried out fancy new recipes that didn’t always work out. I scrambled to finish complicated decorations and my mood always suffered. I smiled on the outside, but by the time my guests arrived, I was stressed and tired. It was impossible for me to relax and enjoy my company.

The more I tried to entertain this way, the more reluctant I became. It was too hard.

Then something began to change. People came into my life who made it look easy, so I studied them. And I began to realize that the best hostesses weren’t the ones who cooked a fancy meal or had an immaculate home. The best hostesses were the ones who enjoyed connecting with their company. All the other stuff was unimportant.

In July of 2008, my husband and I moved into a new house. We were convinced that the Lord wanted us to be very open with our home. We needed to connect with our family and friends in a more personal way. I knew that I had to keep it simple if we were going to open our home to company more frequently.

Summer has become my favorite time to entertain and this is my go-to meal. It lets me spend my time focused on my guests and not myself.

Hot dogs on the grill. That’s all. Not hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken and kielbasa. Just hot dogs. I’m a bit of a hot dog snob, so I get the all meat ones from the butcher. But they’re still just hot dogs.

A big bowl of juicy watermelon. Sometimes it’s cantaloupe or honeydew depending on that I find at the store. Not fancy tropical fruit salad with lemon basil dressing. Just a big bowl of cut fruit. Delish!

Corn on the cob served straight from the stove. Nothing screams summer to me like yummy corn on the cob rolled in butter and sprinkled with salt. And nothing could be easier to make. Just shuck it on the back porch (I sometimes ask my guests to do this) and steam it in a big pot for 5-6 minutes. Done.

The condiments go right on the table. No sense dirtying up more dishes for serving ketchup. Dessert is easy too. I let someone else bring it. Someone always asks “What can I bring?”, when I invite them for dinner. So I ask them to bring dessert and it’s always something sweet and fancy. I always have popsicles in the freezer for the kids. Easy as pie…or cake…or pudding.

And, in case you’re wondering, that lemonade up at the top is Country Time.

Keeping things simple has made all the difference for me. I love being able to connect with my guests when I’m not stressed and tired.

Thank you, Sandy, for having me at Reluctant Entertainer. You constantly inspire me to be open with my home and be real in my entertaining.

What’s you’re favorite summertime dinner? Or do you have a favorite season where entertaining is easier for you?

(If you are wanting to win a copy of The Reluctant Entertainer, Kendra from My First Kitchen has a giveaway going on right now. I’m humbled by her words, I must say. Wow, what a review! Thank you, Kendra!)