Notes from the Left Coast, Sister #3

In light of other sisters' comments, two things occur to me to mention.

We ate American style -- that is, all the food was scheduled to be served at once, and it was. (We were merely 30 minutes behind schedule, eating at 6:30. We had small children and a guest.) As a cook, I've never bounced between kitchen and table, preparing as others are eating (except when a dish, half-prepared and left in the over, is remembered, or dessert). I don't know that I'll be willing to give up being a participant in my own dinner party. Next week's meal will be easier to eat in courses, so I'll try that.

As to beverages: We did not have aperitifs (didn't think of it). Rather, we had a bottle of cheap local red wine (Pinot Evil, I believe) while cooking, and, with the meal, a somewhat too-sweet-for-the meal Pinot Gris -- from the local winery Anne Aimee, for rather obvious reasons. The men (BleusBrother and RJ) drank Guinness, and later Belgian beer.

The cookbook doesn't discuss things like wine, or serving courses, or how to set the table. That seems to me to be lacking.