My husband asked if we could invite a friend over for dinner on Friday, and I said “no” because I didn’t feel like having to be a hostess.
Then, I thought about a little piece of brisket I had in the freezer and how I wanted to prepare it. And what would taste good with it. So I told him I’d changed my mind, so we invited a friend over.
And then, I decided to tell another friend that if she wanted to come over to be with people, she was welcome to come. She didn’t want the pressure of committing to a social evening, and I said that wasn’t necessary. She could just decide to come over or not – the table was set for 3 people (easy enough to add a plate and flatware, right?).
The original 3 of us sat outside on the terrace with appies and wine for a couple of hours – now dinner was officially “late”. My friend called to say that she’d like to come over for a glass of wine, and then called to say that she was downstairs (we live in an apartment).
We had come inside by this time, and she sat with us and had some appetizers and wine. When we moved to the table, she joined us for dinner, and I thought how great it was to have friends who felt free to join in without a formal invitation and no expectations.
I think we sat down to dinner at 10:00 p.m. and here’s the menu.
Friday dinner menu
Smoked brisket – we have a stove top smoker, and I smoked the little brisket for 2 hours before putting some homemade bbq sauce on it, wrapping it tightly in tin foil and putting it in a 300° F oven for 4 hours.
Potato salad (roasted garlic and lemon juice dressing) with vegetables
Corn with Chipotle butter
Green and yellow beans with gremolata
We drank a nice Zinfandel with it.
My husband had already gone to bed after the original guest left. My friend stayed for the rest of the evening, which ended around midnight.
It was a lovely evening, filled with catching up on each other’s lives and family stories, thanks to a brisket in the freezer.
PS – check your freezer because it doesn’t have to be as complicated as a 5 hour brisket.