Dinner Party.13

Tonight Stearns threw a Little Gidding dinner party--the theme was distinctively Southern and delicious--pork with a bourbon-mint sauce, sweet potatoes, cheese biscuits, green beans with mushrooms and almonds, and pecan pie for dessert (with a touch of orange in the filling). And, of course, mint julips, thanks to Sr. Margarita Aloysius. I made scallops as the appetizer--scallops wrapped in bacon, which was coated with a mixture of brown sugar, curry and cayenne pepper. I would definitely make that again.

The Southern theme was appropriate, since we had a Kentuckian and a Louisianan. We also had an Ohio-ite who, interestingly, persisted as a defender of agrarianism. I always think that someone ought to develop a good northern agrarianism. Fr. DH entertained us with stories of being pulled over for speeding and being let off with a "say three Hail Mary's for your penance" (which was brought up because Sr. Margarita Aloysius had tried that evening [and failed] to beat my DC-Durham record from my pre-speeding ticket/books on tape days).

Speaking of, I just finished P.D. James' The Lighthouse, which was delightful. There were hints of (but not too much) romance--just enough for a mystery novel. There was a little bit of poetry: Auden's, "Those to whom evil is done / Do evil in return" and not Auden's, "but that was in another country; And besides, the wench is dead" (which I know not from its original use but from Eliot turning it into an epigraph). Plus, SARS makes an appearance. As to the mystery itself, it didn't surprise you by turning out to be the person that you least expected. On the other hand, the motivation was rather surprising and unexpected.