Dinner At The In-Laws

My father-in-law Peter is one of my favorite people on earth.  He is fun, well read, and I'm his eye apple.  Since he had the quadruple bypass, the only vice he has left is food.  And he sure enjoys eating.  He watches all the cooking shows and loves to read cookbooks and cooking magazines.  In fact, he renewed my Food & Wine subscription for me. 

Not that Peter actually cooks much.  It's more like he watches and reads these things and picks things out for me to cook that he wants to eat.  It's rather charming.  I'm generally very happy to cook whatever he chooses while he keeps me company in the kitchen.  He doesn't help me cook, he generally sits at the table and I bring him Buckler's non-alcoholic beer in a frosted glass and we chat while I cook.  I enjoy this time with him tremendously.

A couple of days ago, Peter stopped by for a cuppa because my mother-in-law was getting on his last nerve. The residual joys of retirement, too much togetherness and my mother-in-law, while I love her to death, is a fusser.  She must always be doing something.  She doesn't understand the concept of relaxing whatsoever. 

Anyway.

Peter stopped over and I made a pot of tea and we chatted for a bit.  Somehow, we got on the subject of chicken and dumplings.  I do love chicken and dumplings and this is really sad, but the ones I liked best were the ones we used to get at the caf at Lehigh.  And they were really chicken and biscuits.  With that awful neon yellow chicken gravy.  But it was so good. 

This afternoon, Peter and Margaret stopped by and asked us over for dinner.  Peter was making chicken and dumplings.  Real dumplings.  Big soft doughy lumps with a thick chicken stew with lots of thick broth, carrots and peas and potatoes.

It was wonderful.  Apple and mince pie with ice cream for dessert. 

After dinner, Martin and I went downstairs to the "smoking area" and Peter joined us and it occurred to me that I need to spend some quality time with my father-in-law, who is like a father to me, not only because my father is gone.  We have a lot of common interests outside of cooking and eating, one of which is art.  He's a fairly good artist and we both appreciate color and texture and like decorating rooms. 

I am so lucky that I have in-laws I can not only tolerate, but that I actually love and enjoy spending time with.  They aren't going to be around forever, so I think I need to make more of an effort to spend quality time with them.

Comments

[vero]

You are absolutely right about spending time with them. They sound like wonderful people. I think I'll have a cup of tea. I can imagine the chicken and dumplings! Sigh!

[Nadine]

Lisa, what a wonderful story! It sounds like your new place is going to allow you to spend a bit more time with your In-laws. I think a lot of things happen for a reason.

[momof2]

Alright Lisa, you made me fiend for ice cream. I owe you one, chick. :)
Seriously though, I'm glad you have such a wonderful husband, and sweet in-laws. You are truly blessed. (But I know you know that already)
Enjoy your weekend
A~

[Jillian Staci]

Oh.My.God.

Now I am SERIOUSLY craving chicken and dumplings.

Damn you.

[Martin]

Yes my Dad can make about 3 things very well. One is dumplings, it is real stick to your ribs food and perfect when it's below freezing in Michigan. He can also make very good English pancakes and so can I, I learned it from him. By English pancakes I mean what they call in this country "Crapes". In England those are pancakes. I remember being about 5 and my Mum was working nights so Dad and I had pancakes for dinner (as you do when your the Father of a 5 year old son). Anyway I was egging him on to flip them higher and higher from the frying pan. In the end he was flipping them so high that one or two actually stuck to the ceiling! I remember our dog at the time (a Boxer) sat under those pancakes for the best part of an hour drooling and waiting for them to come down to him.

Martin