There's no recipe for today because I couldn't resist commenting on the strange moralizing on the back cover of Better Homes and Gardens Recipes for Entertaining (1972).
What could happen if you don't use the cookbook to plan your next party?
That's right, you'll be "The unorganized hostess who should have done some planning," hair up in curlers, food boiling over, dirty pots and pans scattered everywhere, colander draining on the counter because there's no room in the sink.
My moralizing caption would be more like "Person who invited guests over wishes she would have had the foresight to realize she'd prefer an evening alone with her lovely cat."
Those who heed the book's instructions have a picture-perfect evening to look forward to, at least according to Better Homes and Gardens.
Yes, she's "An organized hostess who is prepared when guests arrive," her hair perfectly coiffed, martinis ready to mix, pots and pans under control, and the salad requiring only a last-minute toss.
Of course, my caption might be a bit different for this one too: "Organized party planner blissfully unaware that guests resent her smug ass."
If you want to do some moralizing, Better Homes and Gardens, then I get to do some too. And as you celebrate the last few days of 2024, reader, enjoy them however you see fit-- even if you're happiest home alone with a lovely cat.
The organized hostess is serving salad with drinks and that's it. The two small pans on the stove are not steaming, so they don't have any hot food in them. Maybe she has a platter of cold cuts and cheese in the fridge, and some sort of fancy rolls for people to use to make sandwiches.
ReplyDeleteThe unorganized hostess looks like her significant other sprang a dinner party on her at the last minute and she's holding that empty pan plotting her revenge. Cat hair in their food for a week isn't enough to make up for this. I'm not sure if the tear on her cheek is out of sadness, frustration, or joy over what she plans to do as payback for this.
The organized hostess definitely looks like she has way less ambitious plans. Maybe the advice should be simply "Don't try too hard."
DeleteYeah, that was the original message I thought of, but then the look of annoyance and the pan in the hand of the woman in the first picture made me decide she hadn't done it to herself.
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