Trying to Eat Cheap: Dinner, Day 16

I guess in a way you could say tonight's dinner was "cheap." But actually it was more like priceless. Our fabulous friends cooked us a fantastic spread of leg of lamb, mixed greens, savory creamy cheesy scalloped potatoes (including sweet potatoes), warm artisanal French bread, plus all the red wine and beer we could ever want. And they brought it all to us, because by a fluke their power went out and they weren't able to host at home as planned. Here's my plate, although this picture doesn't do justice to the giant flavors we were having.



Some details: The lamb was thickly coated in chopped garlic and rosemary--all ingredients local and organic. The scalloped potatoes were made with sage, flat leaf parsley and smoked gruyère, which made it taste like it contained bacon. Also I threw together a few hors d'oeuvres--vegetable sticks, hummus and the store's "cheese of the week," a creamy havarti that we ate in big buttery chunks handed around on a small white plate. It was a great evening with amazing food and even better friends--THANKS P&M!! This should definitely be an annual tradition.

In terms of frugality, the lesson here is to share the good stuff with the people you love. We lucked out tonight because we got to be with some of our favorite people AND we got to share some of their excellent food. Real pleasure. Next it's our turn!