My loving husband came home from work a little while ago. He wasn’t in the best of moods because he made a remark about the state of our stove—and I cleaned it. His adoring tone seemed to be questioning if I did anything all day.
No. I did nothing except to lay around —what do you think I did?
So I’m gonna tell you what I did—because I don’t want to act the way I did when I was angry at my computer—remember that???
Now–tomorrow I pick Roman up at the train station. He’s visiting for a few days and I’m giving him the King’s treatment. He was at the Super Bowl. Jimmy Fallon had a special show after the “This Is Us” episode that aired after the Super Bowl. Then he had to catch a Six AM flight back to New York.
My son had to work into the wee hours after Super Bowl–and he had a blast. He was telling me it was so much fun!
He had a great time and was thrilled that The Eagles won. And he’s been working non-stop. So, I’m making everything nice for him!
Saturday night, my step-daughter, her husband and their daughter will be coming over for dinner so it’ll be a nice little family gathering.
That means there will be a lot of food at Chateau Bonaparte!
I’ll get to that in a bit.
But first, here’s how the day rolled.
Got up at 6:30, enjoyed my morning cup of cawfee in bed like the princess I am. Bonaparte makes the best coffee. And while I enjoyed my morning drug, medication, caffeine fix, beverage, I made a list of what needed to be done. Now—this was at 6:30 in the morning.
Funny how I’m not a coffee drinker at work or during the day but I NEED my morning cup to wake up!!!
At Seven O’clock, I was in the little guest room makeshift beauty room. My makeup had to be looking good today because my passport needs to be renewed which means I have to have a new passport photo taken. Naturally, while making myself presentable, I decided to swatch some samples of my newest Morphe eyeshadow palette. I’ll be doing a blog post on this sometime soon. Not this weekend though.
Procrastination at its best. I was supposed to be applying these shadows to my eyes but played beauty blogger instead and applied them to the inside of my arm!
I had to make a decision on what hair to wear. I wish you could have “various” or “it depends” next to Hair Color: ______. Because I wear wigs, I have a varied assortment of fake hair color. I decided to go with my Justine wig from “It’s A Wig” because this particular wig has strands of just about every hair color I own. I even pulled a little of my *cough* “natural” black hair out in the front!
Why couldn’t THIS be my passport photo? Seriously. Wait till you see how the photos turned out. Ugh. Leeeeeeeee!!!!
Next—the saga of the Boots from Hell continues. BTW, thank you to everyone who suggested I get in touch with the Tory Burch company. I sent them a nice email explaining what happened. Gerardo, from Customer Service called me! Can you believe it?? I was shocked. Thank God I didn’t throw the boots in the trash. Instead, I threw them in the closet in the hallway downstairs.
The boots from hell are finally on their way back to their maker!!
Gerardo sent me an email with a label to send the boots back to Tory Burch in exchange for a gift card. Works for me! And—just my luck, my stinking laptop has no printer. I had to email the information to Bonaparte, he couldn’t print the label but printed a receipt. I had a scan to show the people at UPS so that was good enough. BTW, Gerardo is an exceptional customer service rep. I’m writing a letter to let TB Corporate know how good he is!
Off I went. My wig in place and not shifting. My lipstick looks good. My boots from hell are in the box. Chippy has been taken out and I stuffed a Kong with a ton of treats and peanut butter for him.
I got to the Rite-Aid to have my photo taken. The woman was very nice in an authoritative kind of way. She told me to take my glasses off. I balked. I explained to her that my glasses are my personality. Just like Alfalfa from the Little Rascal’s cowlick is his personality.
Alfalfa’s personality is his cowlick. My personality is my eyeglasses!
I took them off.
She had me stand in front of a white screen and trying to look my best, even though I couldn’t see a thing, I smiled.
She told me I couldn’t smile. I explained that I look hideous in photos if I don’t smile. She said the passport people want us to look hideous.
It was a true mug shot—but nonetheless, I didn’t care. I was thinking of the letter I was going to write to the head of the passport department explaining that I should be able to use a selfie as my passport photo because I know my good angles.
I have to laugh at this photo. I’m so cross-eyed that it’s quite sad. Then there’s the jowls. Please God. Please let me win the lottery so I can go to Hospital for Special Surgery to have my face lifted. I’m special!
Next stop was Costco. Bonaparte gave me very specific instructions that I was to buy the best beef tenderloin they sold. Not the $18.99 a pound one but the $22.99 a pound filet. I was also instructed to get coffee.
I think this will be enough meat for five adults and one child. I’ll take mine blue!
Now—I thought it very odd and eerie that there was no traffic this morning. It was as though I was driving through a ghost town. Then I realized that today was the parade in Philly for The Eagles. This lack of traffic has given me a new appreciation for Eagles fans. They were all either lined up in Center City waiting for the parade to start or they were home getting ready to watch the parade on TV.
It was the very first time I’ve ever gotten parking space twenty feet from Costco’s entrance. And when I made my purchases, I didn’t even have to wait on a line!
Next stop was Wegmans to load up on weekend food! Again, I had to stop and give thanks to The Eagles. The parking lot was empty and I buzzed through that supermarket in less than an hour. And I got a lot of food!
And more meat!! This for the Gyros!!
I’m not done yet!!!!! And even MORE meat!!
For tomorrow night, Roman has requested my Broccoli Rabe, Sausage and pasta. When I arrived home, I cooked up the broccoli Rabe and the sausage, put it in a plastic container so that tomorrow evening all I have to do is cook the pasta, reheat the Rabe and sausage, mix and serve!
Chopped up the Broccoli Rabe, par boiled it and…
…took the sausage out of the casing, and cooked it with the veg. It’s now in the fridge. I’m making my dinner time-friendly tomorrow!
While the sausage/rabe was cooking, I made mushrooms in Cognac for Saturday night!
I bought the makings for Salmon Rillettes but forgot the white wine and surprisingly there was none at home. Tomorrow morning I’ll head out to get the wine.
I’ll make the Rillettes tomorrow. Ewww. I just noticed that the salmon is color enhanced. WTF????
Pound cake is in the freezer for Saturday evening’s dessert but I made an orange-caramel sauce to drizzle over the slices.
Orange-caramel sauce. I’ll slice oranges and drizzle this sauce over the sliced pound cake–it’ll look fancy!
Not one to be satisfied with one dessert, I also made a Nougatine. This is a no-cook, put in the freezer and wait to serve. We’ll have that on Sunday.
Pistachio brittle for the Nougatine. It was fun pounding this into small, dusty pieces!
And not wanting to waste any part of the egg, because the nougatine is made with egg whites, I made lemon curd.
I am a sucker for lemon curd..
All ready for the fridge. It kills me because lemon curd is so overpriced in the stores. It’s the cheapest thing to make at home. Got yolks? Make lemon curd!
Speaking of Sunday—Roman has also requested the Gyros that we had over Christmas. I picked up the meat, cooked it and now it is in the fridge taking in the garlic and herbs that will make it more flavorful when we are ready to eat it.
The worst part of making the gyros is pulsing the onions. After the onions are pulsed you have to place them in a kitchen towel and wring out the juice. I was crying for fifteen minutes after that!
Remember the Rosemary bush I bought before Christmas? Well, it dried out because I neglected it. But the needles came off so easy and I was able to bag them. Now I have freshly dried Rosemary and I pounded this for the gyro meat.
Gyro meat ready to be cooked…
Sliced and into the fridge. The flavors will all absorb and by Sunday–BAM!!! This will be delicious!
I also made Tzatziki for Sunday.
Best Tzatziki is the stuff you make at home!
Now I am left to make the Rillettes, bake the bread, bake the Pita, peel and cook the potatoes and thinking of what veg to make for Saturday evening.
And that was my day. It is now 5:00 PM. I’m thrilled because it isn’t dark yet. In fact, it isn’t even twilight! And I never got to watch the Eagles parading through Center City.
Yes. I did all that in one afternoon! I’m pooped now!
And how was your day ladies and gents? Ever have one of those days where you’re doing a million things and then someone thinks you did nothing? Fun times!
On the way home, I was listening to the radio and a song I absolutely used to love was played. I started seat dancing and singing in my car. Wild Cherry “Play That Funky Music”. The Seventies—such great funk music! I miss funk!!
Totally awesome looking food…. Your passport photo looks great! My new driver’s license photo looks like leather face’s sister from Chainsaw Massacre.
Hope your weekend is fun!
Hi Debe. You are too kind. That photo looks like I’m on my way to casting for Orange is the new Black!! Lol!!!! XOXOXOXO!!!!
Way to go, Catherine! Would you share your recipe for lemon curd? Thx!
Here’s the recipe. I use Martha Stewart’s. Easy. Peasy!!!! Martha Stewart Lemon Curd Recipe
Oh my life you are so organised. I wish I had just half of your energy! And did you really pay nearly one hundred dollars for a joint if beef😱
Can’t wait for your next instalment hope you enjoy your weekend. By the way how do you make lemon curd?
Hi Sharon. Yeah. I did pay that. My husband gave me the money and told me to buy it. I wanted to scarf the money and buy cheaper meat but–you know the French–they are very fussy about their food! Ohhhh…The recipe I use is Martha Stewarts. Go to CGcopy’s comment and my reply has the link to the recipe!!!! XXOXOXO!!!!
What I did today was buy my first wig, and the courage it took to open the door to the wig store was enormous. I give you most of the credit for making me feel comfortable enough to go in.
Hi Marsha!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m so proud of you and happy for you. I’m telling you, you will rock that wig and after a while, you’ll never look back!!!!! XOXOXOXO!!!
Thank you, Catherine! You really are the reason I decided to take the plunge, and I was so fortunate to find a kind and patient person at a very small wig store. You should call yourself the wig concierge!
Hope you have a great weekend with your son and family. You certainly have set the gastronomic stage for a tasty celebration!
Hi Catherine, I remembered having a day like that…my kids were one and six and it was ‘visit to the doctor day’ they weren’t sick so had plenty of energy to devil around then I had to get them in the examination room wrangle the clothes off, deal with the ear splitting, blood curdling screams as vaccinations were given ( plus deal with my one year old yelling BITCH at our wonderful pedratrician, you need to ask where he heard that? Did I mention his brother was SIX) After that we had to pick up groceries…fun! Got home, had them settled quietly having a snack when DAD walks in, opens dishwasher and states: “Am I the only one who empties this thing? What did YOU DO all day?” My one year old sang out “BITCH” that was it. I stood up went to my room and told him to bring me a glass of wine , I was having a time out. He apologized profusely after hearing the saga and said it had all looked so peaceful when he came in he hadn’t realized bla,bla,bla. But he NEVER asked me THAT question again…AND I leave the emptying of the dishwasher to him even if I have done nuthin’ all day. (Which, excepting these past few weeks, is rare)
Your food looks delicious, do you share the recipe for nougatine?you’ve mention making it before and how easy it is to pop in the freezer as a make ahead dessert. I made the rillets for Christmas apps and they are excellent. I can see why you make them so often!
Hi Momcat. It’s amazing how we’ve all had days like this and others think we do nothing all day!!! I had an incident when Roman was three years old, had a doctor’s appointment and her ran out onto Madison Avenue in his underwear. It was comical because me, the nurse and the doctor ran after him. I’ll never forget it–he was wearing teenaged mutant ninja turtles underpants!!!
The recipe is Barefoot Contessa. I serve with caramel sauce instead of fruit and I omit the almond extract: Nougatine Recipe XOXOXOXO!!!!
OMG………look at all u did in one day……..women are amazing! I tease my husband about his inability to multitask like women. While I chop onion , peppers, and saute with garlic, he’s talking, with his hands…….he can’t chop and talk……..he may get around to grating some cheese and getting dinner dishes out. I’m cooking pasta, timing garlic bread in broiler and washing didhes as I go along. When we are all done, he loads dishwasher and says that was an easy meal. Luv the guy (43yrs), but I have a list of prerequisites for the next guy…….ha! This is why we need a woman in the white house……….spin sir less around Donald.
Chris D
Chris. It’s so true. Men simply are unable to multi-task! It’s pathetic–isn’t it? I love my husband but two things–don’t ask me what I’ve done all day and get the hell outta my kitchen!!!!! XOXOXOXO!!!!
Your passport photo isn’t so bad. I had mine renewed in Sept. Here we also had to put hair behind the ears…yuck! I thought I may never fly again! To make matters worse I told my daughter how awful it was and showed it to her…..she is usually complimentary to me but when she looked at it she burst out laughing, then apologized to me.sooo I repeat, I may never fly again!!! LOL
Irene A.
Irene. You are too kind. That photo was taken in horrific light and my glasses are a permanent part of me. WTF???? It’s taking security too far IMHO!!! XOXOXO!!!
Ladies, I love you all, what a great set of comments! I have one of those husbands too, bless him, “what did you do all day” will be engraved on our tombstones.
Catherine, your passport pics aren’t you but if they’ll get you where you want to go, then they are worth it! Your food looks superb and I know so well the joy of crossing things off your list so you can sail through the weekend and enjoy everyone’s company. Have a great weekend with Roman and the family.xx
Actually, Judy, I did look at my current passport and I’m not wearing my glasses in that one either. And it’s funny because TWICE in France the border patrol questioned my passport saying I looked much better than the photo. I thanked them profusely!!! XOXOXOXO!!!!
Holy cow, what’s wrong with smiling in a passport picture? I smiled in mine! You are a cooking queen – I am so impressed. I love cooking and baking but I hate cleaning up afterwards. Life would be better if I had a housekeeper to handle those kinds of things, lol. Your weekend sounds like it will be wonderful!
xo,
Kellyann
Hi Kellyann. I want to get my passport photo where you live!!! Up here in the Northeast everyone is supposed to look miserable at all times–LOL!! Ugh. I used to have a cleaning service but didn’t like the way they cleaned. It’s tough being a control freak sometimes!!! XOXOXOXO!!!!
One of these days I have GOT to make that nougatine! Your passport photo is better than mine. But, here’s the flipside: My previous passport had an absolutely fantastic photo (taken by my wasband who was a professional photographer.) It looked so much better than I ever did when I passed through security that the person checking it always kind of looked at it, and then up at me, and then back at the photo and I was always thinking “oh geez give me a break!” So there’s that. The real-life you will always look better than the pic.
LOL. Turner–I had the same experience but in the opposite way!!! I swear–ugh!! But at least I can get where I’m going!!! XOXOXOXO!!!
You’re making me hungry Catherine!
I miss Wegmans too. We don’t have one in Atlanta. Best grocery store experience ever!!
I hope you have a wonderful weekend with your family!
Hugs,
Robin
Hi Robin. Do you have Harris Tweeter (I think that’s the name)? I remember going there with my sister-in-law when they lived in Charlotte and it was a nice supermarket! The bread is in the oven now and I’ll be on my way to run errands and pick up Roman when it’s done! You have a great weekend too!!!! XOXOXO!!!!
I was so upset by the new “no glasses” rule about passports that I stormed out of the Rite-Aid. I went home, did some makeup work on the eyes, and found a passport shop that lets you have photo approval of your picture. Still not happy about the new rules, but what’ya gonna do?
You look lovely in yours.
I’m pooped reading about everything you did. I hope you read the column to Bonaparte. Husbands can be annoying sometimes!
xoxo
Hi Christine. I swear if I wasn’t so damned lazy, I would have shopped around for a better place to take my photo. But–whatever!!!! LOL. I’m still busy here!!! XOXOXOXO!!!
What time this weekend shall we all show up for nougatine? Hope u have fun with family!
Chris D
8 PM!!!!! XOXOXOXO!!!!
As always, I laughed out loud…so this is what a so-called “non-working” woman does during the day…you are quite the cook…fabulous…I can’t even pronounce the meals you are creating and I even had to cheat and look up some of the dishes. 🙂 Happy Weekend!
Hi Jeanne. I swear I can’t wait to get back to work–it’ll be a well-needed rest for me!!! XOXOXOXO!!!
I know what you mean…I just took a “break” from work to read your post…away from home work can be a nice change from the craziness of home…does that even make sense? Of course it does. 🙂
“Ever have one of those days where you’re doing a million things and then someone thinks you did nothing?” Really? That’s NOT how it’s supposed to be? Could have fooled me. I thought that was normal! Hm…
Bingo Lady Calen!!!! Bing-Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! XOXOXOXO!!!
I think you’ve had the universal document photo experience…I had to remove my glasses for my driver’s license picture even though it says right on the #%*# license “must wear corrective lenses”. I look like a ghoul.
Also love your reader TURNER’s word “wasband”… which I think is ex-husband… I haven’t heard that before but you can bet I’ll be using it! ❤️💚
My last comment refers, of course, to my ex-husbands…not my darling Allen…❤️💚
Re: colour enhanced salmon. Farmed salmon flesh come in a spectrum of pale pink/grey. The pigmenting supplements added to the food pellets given to farm fish are synthesized using petrochemicals. They may be FDA approved but not good for your health. At home we cut the weekly salmon (farmed) meal for one meal once a month (only wild or from a small good organic farm).
Francesca xx
Crumbs I am knackered just reading that – do you ever ask Bonaparte what HE does all day? Gravel-guy once wondered aloud what I did when the children were small and I was at home – so I asked him what HE did, well he worked of course – naturally I had to ask for more detail as in “but what did you actually DO?” Didn’t go down well 🙂
Loving the food – adore fennel type sausage, heaven, that is our dinner tomorrow night probably once we have finished the left over refried beans from tonight at lunchtime. I also really like lamb – but the kids don’t like it sadly and yet I am a kiwi – even today there are more sheep than humans back home.
I’m exhausted just reading what you did. Where do you get the energy from? I want some.
I also had to remove my specs and not smile – the photo from hell. Why no specs? I always wear them and definitely look very different without them and a smile. I always hope that I’ll be stopped because I couldn’t possibly be the miserable ugly person in the photograph!!
Hope you had a great weekend and your hard work and food were appreciated.
Susan Dj
Hi Susan. Oh…I’m still confused as to why the hell those who HAVE to wear eyeglasses every waking minute would have to take them off for the passport photos. When I’m at border patrol, I keep my glasses ON. It’s insane!!!! XOXOXOXOXO!!!!
Long time reader, first time commentor here. I have such a bad passport photo that the passport control guy in Amsterdam gave it the look over not once, not twice but three times and than had someone else come over to look at it and then say he was sorry about my photo!! Can’t do anything but laugh and board the plane.
OMG. Terri! I know what you went through because I had a similar experience in France–and the best thing to do is just laugh and take it in stride!!! XOXOXOXO!!!!
CVS wouldn’t let me wear my glasses or my scarf. Then they insisted that I push my very short hair behind my ears because it was leaving shadows???? Frustrated, I left and had my photo taken at AAA. They let me wear my scarf and didn’t push my hair behind my ears. Crazy.