Sunday Daily Prompt

Entertain

In my world, the word, entertain, requires food. I like to cook.I like the process. Food planning, shopping, prepping, returning to the store for forgotten ingredients, and finishing the cooking takes all day. Cooking enough so that there are leftovers for a few days is essential. Leftovers are not necessarily for bagged lunches. Leftovers confirm no one went home hungry.

I do hate cleaning before entertaining company. The floors get scuffed and tables and dishes need to be cleaned afterward. Why not do the big clean after the entertaining? Why? Well, no one likes to walk into my cluttered home, lean on a sticky counter or use an unfreshened bathroom. So I manically clean my house before entertaining.

A most important ingredient to entertaining is sharing stories around the table. Humorous vignettes, surprising encounters, and reminisces are told, making the whole meal interesting and unforgettable. Don’t get me wrong. There must still be a lot of delicious thoughtfully prepared food served on sparkling dishes and clean tablecloths.