What’s Cookin’ in the Country?

Last winter my husband and I loved sitting by the fireplace to eat our dinner on cold nights.  We would pull the table over close and enjoy the ambiance and the warmth it provided.  This year we’ve decided to go ahead and pull the table over and leave it there for a bit.  Since our living room and kitchen are all one big open space, we can simply move the furniture back to make room for the table right in front of the flames.  Love it!

Last week we rearranged the furniture in time to have our neighbors over for a soup supper.  It was no fancy meal – just soup, salad, biscuits and pie, but it was made a lot more special sitting in front of the fire, lights dimmed and Christmas music playing.

The whole invitation and meal was a little spur of the moment kind of thing.  I had most everything on hand, and decided this would be a good day to invite friends to join us.  We made the call to invite them over and then set out to make it an enjoyable, relaxing evening.

This Spinach Salad is a great change from a normal tossed salad.  The Water Chestnuts give it a nice crunch and the dressing is sweet and tangy.  

 Fresh Spinach
1 Can Water Chestnuts, drained
Bacon pieces
2 Boiled Eggs

Dressing:
1/2 Cup oil
2 Tbl. vinegar
2 Tbl + 2 tsp Ketchup
6 Tbl. Sugar
1 Tbl. Worcestershire Sauce
Dash salt

Combine and shake well in ar.  May pour or pour over salad and toss just before serving.

For dessert, I made a pie my mom had brought to Thanksgiving.  It was the best dessert we had!  Wow!  Super yummy!

Laura Bush’s Buttermilk Coconut Pie

1 unbaked nine-inch pie shell
½ stick melted butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup sweetened, shredded coconut, plus ½ cup of toasted coconut for garnish
1/3 cup buttermilk
2 cups whipped cream

Mix butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, coconut and buttermilk, and pour into pie shell.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

In a dry frying pan set at low heat, toast the coconut until it is golden brown.

Garnish pie with whipped cream, and sprinkle with toasted coconut.

I love having guests –  and when you don’t fuss and plan forever, it’s not stressful!  Have you had guests in spur–of-the-moment recently? 

With love from my country kitchen,