It turned out to be a full weekend. Mo's graduation, Tour de Bier, my big bimonthly freelance project. I took Monday off work to offset some of the work time I knew I'd miss over the weekend, though I had no idea really because since Corinna's Mom and stepdad were also in town for a visit (this was on the calendar long in advance, I just didn't process what it meant). Which meant dinner guests (in addition to my in-laws on Friday and Sunday evenings because that's just how we roll.
More accurately, it's how Corinna rolls. I like to entertain, too, but my efforts tend to extend as far as, while I'm filling up the grill with food posting pictures to Facebook with a blanket invitation for any of my friends to come on over and chow down. I think I'm a pretty good cook, so's Corinna, and we set a good if sometimes unconventional table, yet we pretty much never get any actual takers for that.
Case in point, Saturday evening of this weekend when I grilled six pounds of hamburgers and almost ten pounds of tuna steaks. These were cut from an enormous tuna 'loin' Corinna found at a bargain price, and since I was cutting the steaks myself they were about one and a half to two inches thick because fresh tuna should be rare. Living in Kansas it's hard to get sashimi grade tuna, and a Tokyo sushi chef might have turned his nose up at this stuff, but it was remarkably fresh for midwestern seafood. I think the huge piece has advantages: the spoilage bacteria that create that 'fishy' smell are, I'm pretty sure, aerobic. So the more surface area you have in storage, the faster that stuff can affect more of the meat. A 9.8 lb 'loin' with the skin on, there's as little surface area as physically possible there, and it had obviously been vacuum sealed and frozen that way (I wouldn't be surprised if this was done on ship).
We didn't have any takers Saturday night, like I say, but Sunday we had neighbors in addition to the visiting family. Of course I took pictures, but like most homes, our house is like a cave the Taliban might hide out in from a lighting/photography standpoint and almost nothing I took turned out worth a shit. So right before I took Gwen & Tim to the airport Monday morning, I had them stand with Corinna in the front yard with the harsh sun in their face for a shot. I really enjoy them, wouldn't mind a bit if they visited more often but distances being what they are I totally understand why it's usually a once a year type thing.
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