Late night dinners

Growing up, dinner was at 7pm and we all ate together. If you were going to be late (for a good reason... like maybe a piano lesson or something) we generally held dinner until we were all there. If my dad got caught up mowing the lawn, dinner would sometimes be very late. When I was little little, I'm sure I got mine earlier, but I just remember how very important it was.

Now, Darling Husband and I always eat dinner together, but Baby Girl often gets hers early. Partially because she needs to be going to bed early and partially because she's not big on table food or, well, letting me cook. (She's very into bananas, yogurt, bread, graham crackers, corn on the cob and those little fruit cups of peaches. She puts up with other things.) Darling Husband doesn't get home until six at best, which really pushes things back. We usually eat after she's in bed.

That being said, lately dinner here is unusually late. Darling Husband is in a play in a neighboring town, about 45 minutes away. This isn't as odd as it seems, as he works in that town and commutes daily. But it does mean that there isn't time for him to come home between work and rehearsal. This is the third night this week where we're not seeing him until after 10pm. Whew! I'm trying to be creative about meals. We had chicken patty parmasean sandwiches one night, meatloaf and mashed potatoes another. Tonight we were to have cauliflower and potato gratin. I haven't made it yet.

Part of the reason is I am sniffy and coughing and tired. Part of the reason is I took Baby Girl to the playground and we both got worn out. Part of the reason is Baby Girl chose tonight for her first real temper tantrum, and it took more out of me than the other parts combined.

I don't know if I'll get around to it. The cauliflower is already prepped, but I need to parboil it along with the potatoes (which aren't prepped). Then I'll make a cheesy bechamel and put it all into a casserole with crumbled club crackers on top. Into the oven it will go.

Ugh, it sounds so good but I am seriously wishing for a magic wand right now. Who knows? It might be lunch tomorrow instead.

Last night, Darling Husband made delicatta squash ravioli in a walnut sage brown butter. From scratch. Oh, it was heavenly! He used wonton wrappers for the ravioli, which makes a nicely light pasta. After roasting the delicatta, he pureed it with garlic (don't know what else) and spooned it onto a wonton. Before the top wonton was sealed on with egg wash, he put a pinch of asiago cheese. He served it with a fresh wine and cheese sausage, which he grilled. Needless to say, we didn't have any leftovers.