Easy Sunday Linner

Do you have memories of attending church and then going to Grandma’s for a big Sunday dinner?  I do and my grandma had been a farm girl and she cooked big time. Those Sundays are sweet in my memories.

But things are a little different around here.  We play pickleball on Sundays and then usually do brunch afterwards.  Nothing against church and Grandma, but it’s pretty dang fun.

And.  It’s kept us sane this year.  Well, maybe that verdict is still out.

Anyway.  We decided to mix things up this week and do linner instead of brunch.  What’s linner you ask?  A combination of lunch and dinner. 

When old people don’t want to eat too late at night, it’s a perfect meal.  The hard part is waiting for a late lunch.

The key is to keep it simple and no fooling around.  In other words no appetizers, just get down to the meal.  So everything needs to be ready to go when guests arrive.  No last minute preparations. 

Ok, maybe a quick cocktail though.

Saturday I made two big batches of chili – regular beef and bean chili and three bean turkey chili (which I’ll share with you on the next post).

Sunday morning I created Christmas tree folded napkins and set the table.

About an hour before scheduled dinner, I whipped up the cornbread so it would be fresh. 

I put out a pitcher of iced water with fresh cranberries and added fresh rosemary to a basket of gold ornaments for a festive touch.  A few mercury glass votives and a new salt and pepper set from DF Michelle rounded off a pretty and simple table.  I almost sound like Martha Stewart, don’t I?  Ok, let me dream here.

Additional ways we kept it simple was using everyday dishes and crystal that can go right in the dishwasher.

What I’m Reading

I finished The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell.  I hinted about this book on my last post and wasn’t sure I would get through it.  It is a gothic horror, but I was afraid it would take a U-turn into a gothic romance.  Oh no, can’t do that.  Sorry.

But, it wasn’t.  There really wasn’t a drop of romance in it.  Honestly, Jack Reacher gets more sugar than the poor heroine of this novel did.

You know, it was pretty good.  It was well-written and very original.  But the characters were very flat.  It’s hard to get behind anyone when they’re flat.  Right?  It has good reviews on Goodreads, so maybe it’s just me.

But if you’re up for a horror, go ahead and get this one.  If horror really isn’t your bag, move along.

What I’m Eating

Chili and Cornbread.  Can anyone say, “Comfort Food”?  It seems like comfort food has been on the menu in this house way more than healthy food has lately.  Not a lot of kale crossing this threshold.

I used a cornbread recipe from Sallysbakingaddiction.com.  Do you know this site?  DF Evon told me about it and coincidentally when I was searching for good cornbread recipes, her site had the highest rating.  Her favorite cornbread recipe was a hit, it was easy to make and it contained ingredients on hand. 

In other words, it checked all my kitchen boxes.

I will say I added a bit less brown sugar and honey than it called for.  Reducing sugar always makes the end product a bit better for me.

I think our Christmas entertaining is probably at an end this year. It was pretty scant, but I’m still counting my blessings. Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas.