make-your-own sodas. The men were chuckling knowingly about some iPhone app that reminds you to do stuff.** And an adorable little voice piped up:
"Mommy! Mommy! Can I have the one with the salad on it, PLEASE?"
Clearly, this was not my house, but a damn nice place to visit. And then, the conversation amongst us ladies turned to the inevitable aging of our children, and how grown up they all were getting.
Hostess: It just makes me want to have another baby. Almost every month I'm overcome with this desire and I have to really talk myself out of it.
Guest: Oh my gosh, me too. I would love to have another one!
They turn to me expectantly.
I look at them blankly, and then speak slowly as they are clearly insane*** and should be handled gently.
Me: No baby for me. Anyone for dessert?
Cornmeal Shortbread Cookies
Adapted from a recipe**** by Nancy Silverton in the Great Gatherings cookbook
1/2 c. butter, softened
6 Tbs. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. lemon zest
3/4 c. plus 2 Tbs. flour
1/4 c. medium grind polenta or cornmeal
About 1/2 tsp. of fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped.
1/4 c. raw sugar
Click to print this recipe!
* For those of you who are wondering, my favorite dog of the evening was the Indian Dog with Dal and Red Onion Riata. It's the one on the far right in the photo and it was terrific.
** I'm happy to do this for free, as would your own spouse, btw.
*** I was relieved later in the conversation to hear a relatively sensible analysis of the impact of sleep deprivation on those old enough to know better, and a confirmation that these unfathomable urges were curable by the normal ebb of hormones. Thus there will likely be no impending baby annoucements from this crew, and I can continue to visit this bucolic slice of heaven without fear for the safety of my family.
**** Her recipe calls for rolling out the dough and cutting thin rounds, and has the rosemary as part of a pine nut nougatine that bakes on top. It sounds awesome, but I skipped that part because of a nut allergy and invented the rosemary sugar instead. I loved the results.
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