farewell my cousin

I have a lot of cousins but not a lot of cousins I would consider true friends. My cousin Natalie is one of the exceptions. She and her spiffy husband are moving oversees and not just oversees but oversees in the sense that we won’t be rushing off to visit them. It’s far and remote. Like so remote I asked her husband if they had to travel by camel in the region they will be living. That made him laugh but it was a real question. Like I really thought that was the only form of travel where they are going. And I consider myself to be intelligent and thus someone who asks intelligent questions. Well apparently I had my countries wrong and they don’t travel by camel. My point is, my husband and I will miss them. They were the only family we had in the New York area so it’s sad to see them go. Even so, I am excited for them and for this adventure they are going on.

For a proper farewell we had my cousin and her husband over for dinner. It was during the week so I tried to keep things simple. I served pasta with an Artichoke and Lemon sauce that I had purchased at Williams Sonoma. The sauce was full-bodied yet still light on the pallet. I tossed in some fresh shrimp which made for a lovely addition. I will definitely be serving this again during the summer season. I paired the meal with fresh green beans that got rave reviews. I personally don’t eat green beans but my husband declared them the hit of the meal. They were super easy with not too many ingredients – just how I like to cook things.

As for beverages, my cousin and her husband don’t drink so I really fretted over what I would serve. My dear co-worker came to the rescue and suggested I make Limeade. I had never heard of Limeade (I know, I know… but I don’t think Puerto Rican’s drink this stuff) and was instantly intrigued. I didn’t find a recipe that was easy enough for making after work but after looking at a few I got a jist of the ingredients and decided to wing it. I found some gorgeous black seedless grapes with the intentions of making a Grape Limeade but the grapes never got smashed down for their juice. Never the less our Key Lime Limeade (with a garnish of black grapes) was delicious.

I have to mention that my cousin who thought she was just coming over for dinner got stuck squeezing an entire bag of key limes. She is such a trooper. And of course, there are photos. Here goes our Key Lime Limeade with a garnish of black grapes and fresh lemon.

 

Key Lime Limeade with Black Grapes

For the life of me I can’t find a link to the Artichoke and Lemon Pasta Sauce I served. Perhaps it’s only available in stores but here’s a photo I took.

Artichoke and Lemon Past Sauce

I am slowly making my way through several recipes I want to test via My Baking Addiction. Jamie made these sound so enticing that I made her Spicy Green Beans and I don’t even eat green beans.

Green Beans

I’m not sure what I’ll be cooking up in June but I have some ideas.