August 30

WOW it's been a long time since my last post! I've been cooking/eating the traditional summer stuff (grilled dogs, hamburgers, chicken etc) but my son's wedding is less than a week away and I'm catering the rehearsal dinner so it's time to get to work!

I've already made most of dish #1 - cubes of chicken breast, sauteed and cooked in a gravy/sauce with some cooked & chopped Andouille sausage for some heat. It's frozen now and will be mixed with cooked rice on the 'day of' then baked a bit.

Time to start dish #2 - 3 Cheese Manicotti. Today I need to make the ricotta cheese.That just involves a couple of gallons of milk, some lemon juice, some heat and a bunch of time. It'll drain overnight and be ready tomorrow. I also should start simmering my tomato sauce.

Dish #3 is a variation on the above manicotti but with a different filling - this one with spinach and ground, smoked sausage added to the cheese filling. Gotta smoke some sausages!