Whew. Party's over. We've cleaned up, kind of. Got to bed at 1:30 am. The tuna turned out pretty well. It was different from the previous fish. Flesh was softer, fattier, not as firm. I skipped the chirasi course because I didn't think this fish was all that suited to sashimi. And I skipped the last course because it was getting late and people were full. The third most favorite dish was tuna marinated in miso and lots of sea salt for 24 hours. Served with a topping of wasabi tobiko (wasabi-infused flying fish roe, buy it at a Japanese market) and a smear of honey-wasabi sauce (exactly what it sounds like, honey mixed with a-not-quite toe-curling amount of wasabi powder). The runner up was the blast-seared tuna. Mix soy sauce, honey, and wasabi. Marinate tuna loin block overnight. Roll loin in sesame seeds to coat. Light charcoal in chimney starter. When coals are ready, put blow dryer at base of starter, so that white flame is roaring from top. Place grill on top, sear loin, each side 20 sec. Slice loin into medallions. Top with reserved marinade. The favorite, by far, was a variant of the pan-seared tuna with ginger shiitake sauce. FOAS posted a link to this dish in the previous tuna thread. I made some modifications - pan-browned the shiitake slices first, omitted the soy sauce, omitted the lime juice, added lime zest. Several people asked for this recipe, so here it is, and thanks again to FOAS - - slice shiitake mushroom caps to 1/4 to 1/8 inch, dice stems - brown diced stems in butter, set aside - brown cap slices in butter, working in single layer and turning each slice individually, to crusty, set aside - chop 1/3 c green onions, 1/4 c cilantro, 2 tbsp fresh ginger, 4 garlic cloves - cook in pan medium heat a few minutes, add mushrooms, then 1 1/2 c whipping cream, heat to low, cook until sauce thickens, set aside - heat to high, get pan very hot, add olive oil, sear tuna just long enough to get 1/8 inch cooked layer on each side - reheat sauce, add zest of 2 limes, add a teeny splash more of cream if sauce looks tired, salt to taste (for me, about 1 tsp kosher salt) - plate and be sure to credit FOAS The last dish, which we skipped, was tuna and scallop ceviche with a salsa of my own tomatoes, peaches, and kiwi. It was something I should have served earlier in the evening. Well, I'll have it for lunch and deliver some to the neighbors.

The advantages of having kids and grandkids! Well, well trained ones, if you can get them! Even a SO will do in a pinch! If I had lived there, I probably would have been able to finish everything the morning after the party. Also, I spent quite a bit of time the next day dealing with an issue that came up with my elderly father, whom I am quasi caring for at yet another place. How I long for the stability of one home and one town that I live in rather than endless packing and being on the road. I can say from my perspective, one of the reasons china and other dishes that need to be carefully washed and stored are not popular now days is because folks are so busy, many working two jobs and trying to care for children and/or elderly parents and also many folks single and not living near friends or family, also moving around a lot to follow work or on the road commuting long distances, so just not having the extra time or energy. I know folks worked a lot in the past, but the constant moving I think has always been an impediment to having lots of nice, fragile things, as well as having the time to entertain. Back when mom entertained a lot, she was not working, she stayed home and enjoyed doing those kinds of things. But still, yes it was fun while it lasted, lots of fun and I so wish that kind of experience was more available to me. It used to be when I just worked full time one job and lived and worked in one place, I used to have dinner parties quite often, as some old timers on here will remember.

He always told us never put any peels down the disposer, except lemon or orange, or grease and to always use cold water and let it run for a few minutes after you turn the disposer off. Good enough advice to repeat. We put lemon or lime skins in about once a week. I only run it after the end of filling the dishwasher. If the lemon skins have not cleared completely in 2 days I'll put a couple pounds of ice cubes in. That always clears away the lemon skins. Nothing sharpens the blades because there aren't any blades. There are hammers that pulverize the food and press it into holes on the sides of the disposer. Pull out the black rubber stopper and peek in with your flashlight. The so called sharpeners do nothing but remove gunk from the hammers and the holes.

We have a professional dishwasher at my church and we know how to use it! Nothing worse than church coffee out of styrofoam cups. It's just such a bad habit to go to the quick paper solution so often!! The plates as long as they are sturdy are not a huge deal-for me and for most of our guests, but the flatware and cups, well REAL metal/ceramic are appreciated all the time every time. I am glad our ladies use metal flatware for funerals and last time we served coffee and rolls after Mass we got out the stoneware coffee cups. They were MUCH appreciated. It was about half hour more work--running them all through the dishwasher but well worth the time. And really when you think about the time it took to go BUY the paper...well sadly we are very short sighted on these matters way too often. For me it's about frequency of use. It's fabulous when people have the money and space for real dishes but when one entertains seldom and only on certain occasions the "real" is just not cost effective or practical for many. Schools, well that's a SIN to be daily using paper/plastic IMHO. Filling up landfills etc. I don't know the cost break on the man power to wash vs the paper/plastic costs but the environmental impact has to be worth the cost in that context. That and the lesson our kids are absorbing. We are a disposable society and it isn't serving us well in many situations.