Although I love entertaining, I’m not the greatest cook. Not that I can’t cook. I just despise doing it. My family is not the easiest one to cook for either, since we all have different food allergies. For me, recipes need to be simple, quickly assembled, and easily substitutable. My favorite go-to meal when guests show up unexpectedly is chicken salad, which I’ve shared below.
Entertaining is more than just setting out some bags of chips and turning on the TV. It’s a way to show those you care about, how much you care by spending actual time with them. I know, a novel concept in this busy, text-driven world. Putting away the phones and spending time face-to-face is the best gift you can give to those you care about.
In this issue, we’ll be exploring cooking and entertaining in many different ways. For quick and easy entertaining ideas, check out the contributors suggestions throughout this issue. For you cooking pros, we have the Dake’s stunning Chorizo Tamale Pie. Whatever kind of party you’re panning, we’d like to hear your experiences. Read more about entertaining in our Fall 2017 Issue.
Emerian Rich
Editorial Director
Emerian’s Quick Chicken Salad
1 can white meat chicken, shredded
2 heaping tablespoons mayo
1 granny smith apple, diced
Pepper
*Mix chicken, mayo, and diced apples in a bowl.
*Sprinkle pepper over to taste.
*Spread on croissants, wrap in tortilla, or eat with crackers.
If serving in a buffet, you can have extra apple slices or chips to scoop and enjoy.
Adventure. We all crave it. Whether it’s a dream to travel to the pyramids or simply an extra sprinkle of cinnamon on the morning latte, we want our lives to be exciting. True, the cravings of adventure tend to wane in adulthood. The dreams of becoming a fireman or astronaut have a habit of making way for realistic, less-challenging goals. We work so we can afford a family to call our own, which can be an adventure all its own. For a moment, let’s put away our adult responsibilities and dream of the impossible.
I remember jumping on my bike as a child and tooling around with my friends in hopes of adventure. When none occurred, we’d make up our own. I was no longer a pre-teen riding her bike around Los Angeles County. I was a member of the A-Team, chasing bad guys and solving crimes. We’d explore paths we’d been down a hundred times, pretending it was a forest in Quebec or the wilds of Peru. Bad guys were around every corner, and if we were super vigilant, we’d save the day. During our silly games we even caught a real-life cat burglar. Boy was that exciting!
This month we’re going to be talking about our favorite fur balls and best friends, our pets.
Walking under the grand arches of the Palace of Fine Arts is so breathtaking, I find it hard to compare it to anything in the Bay Area. Sure maybe if you visited the Pyramids of Giza or the Pantheon in Rome, you would feel the same inspiring experience, but this is in our own backyard.
On my 41st birthday, I was a childless bachelor with a long history of living loose of foot and free of fancy. On my 42nd birthday I was four months into a terrific relationship that would last another thirteen years. Then, without any warning whatsoever from a certain inebriated palm reader or the sweet Psychic Tradeshow Tarot reader, I celebrated my 43rd birthday as a grandfather. Yes indeedy, I went from childless bachelor to grandfather in a blistering eighteen months. Somehow this old dog had managed to skip parenthood completely and jump straight down the rabbit hole to grandparenthood.
We are all busy with one thing or another, but what if there were tools to help make things easier? Thankfully, with a little bit of ingenuity, you can now solve some simple problems that take up time. Efficiency equals more time with how busy we all are in our day-to-day lives, using these tech tips can help make a dent into earning back some of the day. Minutes saved here and there add up to less stress and frustration as well as more time. Whatever you decide, give these tech tips a try, and then sit back and relax with that extra time you’ll gain. Want to learn? Here we go!
