Muffinface and the Captain

My sister, Muffinface, and her boyfriend, we'll call him the Captain, visited for a week- the visit was amazing, and looong overdue. As luck would have it, we spotted these artichokes in Wild Oats.



I didn't have a recipe ready for artichokes on the grill, so I steamed them old-school style and served them with hollandaise. Look at the steam coming off this little bugger. I ended up cutting off the stem and discarding it, although it pained me to do so. I just didn't know what to do with it.



Muffinface and the Captain made baked spaghetti one night- it was the first time I had tried it, and it was delicious. That is melted sharp provolone on top!



The Captain made the sauce from scratch- and they layered spaghetti, cheese and sauce several times in a casserole and baked. Another dish that they made for us was creamed chipped beef, which I didn't expect to like-my people don't generally eat meat out of a jar- but it was surprisingly good.

Muffinface also made this salad with arugula, baby greens, pears, shaved parmigiano reggiano and pine nuts with a balasamic dressing which was really different and mui delicioso!



I made Muffinface's favorites- an evening of fondue, steaks on the grill- nothing I haven't blogged about already. TLMM made ribs which were to die for, and I made Belgian frites to go along with them.

Every last one of us had fun, even Hedwig (here he is, along with the Captain)!



When we have company, most meals are eaten at restaurants, but there was something about my sister's visit which inspired us to stay home. It was the quality of the time we spent together that made their visit perfect. Cooking for each other, being in the kitchen together and even just talking about upcoming meals was something we love to do together. I hope we have the chance to do it again soon...and the eggs.