Company Coming

Occasionally I get called upon by Hubby to do a little business entertaining. Since our business is located in a small town most of the entertaining I do is with the families and friends we have known for years. I love having people in our home and love cooking so it has never been a problem. However, in recent years Hubby has become recognized for the success of his insurance business not only in the state but within the insurance industry itself. This means we are becoming acquainted with some of the leaders in the industry as well as the executives in the companies he represents. Again, since they are usually really nice people that we enjoy, it's not a problem.

However, when Hubby decided that he wanted to entertain a group of executives that would be in Kentucky, I started to get a little nervous. After all, I'm not used to fancy cooking or entertaining. So out came the cookbooks and I started trying to plan the menu. The trick, I have discovered over the years, is to do as much ahead of time as possible. I've really never figured out how to be cook, maid, and hostess all at once without very careful planning. Especially, since my kitchen is in the center of my entertainment area.

Since the executives come from upstate New York I wanted to give them a traditional Southern dinner in a Southern manner. This meant using the good dishes and silver with the buffet set up in the dining room. There is nothing like the gleam of polished silver and soft candlelight to set the mood. Then I decided on serving country ham. Now that's a risk, since the dry, salt cured ham, a delicacy in the South, is virtually unknown in the rest of the world. If you are going to have ham, then you just have to have corn pudding (a custardy dish made with eggs, cream, sugar and corn) and green beans. Dessert just fell into place with pecan pie tarts. This certainly wouldn't be a upscale New York or California style meal, but maybe it would give them a flavor of the South.

The evening arrived and the guests seemed to enjoy the opportunity to have a good time and fellowship away from a motel room. They all ate the country ham and wanted to know how they could get some to take home, so I guess it was a success. The best compliment I received was when one of the men, who worked away from home a lot, commented that he was so glad to have a home cooked meal after eating in restaurants so much.

I guess the point of this story is that no matter what their background, people enjoy a relaxed, warm home and a good meal. It doesn't have to be exotic, high style, or complicated. Your home doesn't have to be huge, ornate or expensive. The key is to enjoy your guests and make them welcome.

You can stop in anytime.