Late summer food fest

Some time back Mrs. Phactor and yours truly auctioned off a dinner for 8 at a fund raising event. Today is the day the goods are to be delivered. To take best advantage of late summer fare the dinner theme is sort of a Mediterranean mixed bag, except for dessert, where a particular recipe caught the eye of Mrs. Phactor, but who is going to argue with coconut key lime pie in a coconut macadamia nut crust? The dining experience starts with an Aperol martini. Aperol is an aperitif flavored with rhubarb, and it makes a quite nice drink, ever so slightly bitter, and nicely reddish pink. Starters will consist of cacik, a cucumber and Greek yogurt mixture, and an aubergine carviar on pita bread. Then we will switch to a very cold, very dry Spanish rose wine to serve with gazpacho complete with homemade croutons. The main course is grilled marinated pork kebabs with vegetable kebabs on the side. This will be followed by an orange, kalamata olive, and cilantro salad served with a dry Spanish white wine, an Alberino or white rioja. Lastly of course, the pie, and then a small finisher of dry fino or amantillado sherry. The festivities will take place in our garden pavilion. We do so hope they think they got their monies worth. But if it doesn't rain pretty soon, there won't be much garden to look at.

Fish and visitors smell in three days.

As usual Ben Franklin (Poor Richard's Almanac, 1736) knew what he was talking about.

Whew! The Phactor is so happy to be back to the dull, monotonous routine of his colorless life. Entertaining family, visitors, and friends is very fatiguing, and just so you don’t think me an antisocial curmudgeon, let me qualify this by saying, when in large numbers, like over 100!
It sounds so reasonable, so sane. Your roommate wants a garden party for her birthday. Who could object? But just as you must sweep the floor and make the beds before visitors arrive, for a garden party you also must cut the lawn, tidy up the gardens, nuke many weeds, plant some plants, and hope for good weather. Unfortunately this is no small matter especially when one has no parlor maids or gardeners to do your bidding.

Family and friends came from all over, and since the birthday girl did not know so many of her siblings and other relatives would be coming, it was a big, happy surprise. And it was a glorious evening what with the garden looking so charming, the exceedingly fine blue grass band, the quite excellent food and catering, and the endless supply of wine and the quite finite supply of beer (who can predict?). Was it worth all the effort? Well, yes! Just as you are never the same age again, you only have so many chances to get together with all the people you like.

And in case a putative family member happens upon this, and thinks this all sounds too familiar, the Phactor must remind people one of the reasons for writing an anonymous blog is to keep people guessing. Oh, but don’t think I don’t care. Let me count the ways I love my relatives: far away, from a distance, at arm’s length, out of state, out of control, out on parole, out of the country, out in space, in another dimension, over there, overseas, over the hill and dale, asleep, and in my dreams.

The Phactor should be ready for another one of these parties in just about a decade. Mark your calendars.