Plenty of guests, but no kitchen...

I would say we just can't stop ourselves when it comes to entertaining. I have a feeling that the kids roll their eyes when they hear how many people will be coming over on this or that evening for dinner. We simply enjoy relaxing with friends over good food and wine. Yesterday was my friend Sarah. According to our records (not bad, but not perfect) she hasn't had duck breast at our house, so had that with rice, zucchini, and salad. Lesson learned: don't grill duck breasts. There is simply too much fat on them that drips onto the coals, ignites, and proceeds to char the meat. John insists that cooking in the dark had nothing to do it, but I'm not so sure.

John gets very excited about boiling water on the induction burner. He thinks it's the fastest he has ever boiled water ("It's pretty awesome when it's on high!") and so noodles or mashed potatoes tend to be quick and easy. For our 3 guests tonight,we were able to serve steaks, mashed potatoes, and vegetables using all 3 burners. It was a great meal topped off with some ice cream but unfortunately no berry sauce. The induction burner is great on high but when water spills on it (e.g. from a pot boiling over), it turns itself off. We're still learning.