Jim’s Food, Friends and Flowers-Our Perfect Evening

An invitation to Jim’s house is a guarantee of great food, lively conversations and a landscape filled with enough beauty to keep you wandering around outside to soak it all in. So it took an amazing evening spent at Jim’s to send me back to my computer and my blog once again!

It’s been almost a year since my first knee replacement was done. Then the second knee was replaced in November. With all the rehab and our winter spent in Fort Lauderdale I have been neglecting my blog. (You may have kept up with my day-to-day adventures through my Meemaw Eats Facebook page, and I’ll continue to post almost-daily snippets there too.) The good news? My knees feel AWESOME. And I am grateful to everyone who helped me on the road to recovery! 

So…what was so awesome about dinner at Jim’s that sent me on a beeline here to my laptop to share with you? I’ll just say…EVERTHING.

We were met at the door by the sound of great cocktail hour music playing in the background. And as Jim poured me a glass of Cabernet he told us he had also invited friends John and Jane to join us. We were thrilled to hear that, since we haven’t seen them since before the pandemic began. In fact, the last time we saw them it was when they were guests at a ten course Italian dinner Jim and I prepared for sixteen guests. (Read about THAT event right HERE.) And we were so happy to meet Scott, another friend of Jim’s who has offered to help Jim and me with a special project.

As some of you already know, I am working on a family event scheduled for next month. (Much more about that later!) And Jim has offered to help to prepare a meal for those attendees. So our dinner at Jim’s was also a “working” meeting. (We’re working with Scott on a special video to share at the event.) Because of the “working meeting” vibe Jim promised to make a “simple” meal that night. Let’s just say I know Jim’s simple meals. And they aren’t simple. Ever! But they are ALWAYS delicious. Even his cocktail napkins set the tone for a FUN evening!

Jim headed out to his grill…

While John, Jane, and Scott joined us around the kitchen island to sip our drinks and dive into this delicious warm dip.

Plus, these fantastic, marinated olives. (Perfect with my glass of wine!)

You know those staged photos in gourmet magazines? Those photos of guests holding drinks while standing around a gorgeous kitchen and pretending to be having a scintillating conversation? I suddenly realized we were having a REAL one of those evenings! It was the perfect group of folks having a perfect conversation, in the perfect home, with the perfect host on that perfect evening! Jim ALWAYS manages to bring the right elements together. What a gift!

You see, the Covid pandemic has made me so very appreciative of moments just like that evening. I will NEVER take those friend-filled moments for granted ever again. 

Now…about that menu…

Delicious, perfectly cooked burgers, and amazing baked beans that were smoked on his grill all afternoon! Plus an old-fashioned pasta salad that included sweetened condensed milk. Summer on a plate, for sure.

And Scott added a bowl of cucumbers and onions that took me right back to our farm kitchen more than half a century ago. Delicious!

As the evening unfolded, we all made multiple trips back to the kitchen to refill our plates.

The porch was the perfect backdrop to share a meal on that gorgeous Iowa evening.

 I couldn’t resist the “outdoorsy” advice of another of Jim’s cocktail napkins.

I took my glass of wine and headed out to Jim’s gorgeous back yard. Now join me on that tour!

The paths lead to such beauty everywhere!

Plus so many places to sit and enjoy the surroundings.

I teased Jim about how much time he must spend watering all of this beauty! 

Check out the little vintage pickup truck filled with succulents in this bed. Simply adorable.

As the sunset faded, I headed back inside…for dessert!

This blueberry coffeecake-type creation was sliced. Then topped with a drizzle of sweetened creme fraiche. And of course, the creme fraiche was homemade! (Remember, this is Jim we’re talking about!!) LOL! He is amazing!!!

Yes, Dear Friends…I am so very grateful for nights like this. And for our friends, both old and new. And for all of you who come along for the ride…wherever life takes us.

As the saying goes, “Life is Not a Dress Rehearsal.” And I intend to make the most of whatever I have left. 

August will be filled with some amazing adventures for us, God willing.

Just wait and see!