Our friends Doug and Marsha came through town this week, down from Seattle. We have that sort of friendship where we can say, I’m coming to visit, and there’s no weirdness to make things perfect or pressure to entertain.
Doug’s family lived across the street from mine when we were teenagers (and beyond). Both families have since moved out of the area, but Doug and I have always kept in touch. I think we met around when I was 14 – I can’t actually remember meeting him for the first time. It just seems like he always lived there, across the street. I went to Doug and Marsha’s wedding reception – I’m pretty sure that’s the first time she and I met. Anyway – thirty-plus years later, here we are.
I’ve been pretty good about meal planning lately (yeah, we’ll see how long that lasts), so I had already shopped and knew what I was cooking when they texted and said they’d come by around dinnertime (impeccable timing, those two!).
It was a fairly simple dinner – just whole wheat spaghetti, almost vegetarian but not quite (bacon provides a bit of protein and flavor). I served a lovely, simple gorgonzola and romaine salad that was far better than the pasta, which was not memorable. The recipe is from my lovely friend Cheryl Sternman Rule, who wrote an entire book on yogurt. The dressing is delicious; it’s creamy and slightly tangy from the yogurt. I needed a snack the next day and ended up munching on endive leaves dipped in that dressing.
- Whole-Grain Spaghetti with Wild Mushrooms, Bacon, and Rosemary (Fine Cooking #143)
- Romaine Hearts with Bacon, Tomato and Gorgonzola Drizzle (Yogurt Culture), p. 174
