Saturday night was a celebratory gathering at the Roediger House, a chance to mark the successful completion of PhD studies for Dr. Arley Ward. It'd been two years since his last trip back here to the RoHo, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. The supper choice was a big ol' pot of Vierling Saloon's chicken and wild rice soup.
We also had some appetizers to get us started: homemade pimento cheese and creamy stuffed eggs.
Although we'd been forecast to have temps in the low 70s, it was pretty foggy and drizzly and moist most of the day...that's how I came to decide on soup for supper.
A side note: as I reached up into the cabinet for a prized package of Haddon House Extra Fancy wild rice, I also pulled out an overlooked box of Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice, as shown above.
It expired in 2009. I did not use it.
The drizzle and drear were still going on when I stepped outside in the midst of dinner prep to leave a note on the Honda Accord that was parked across the driveway entrance, making it hard for the dinner crew to get their cars up into the parking lot.
Finally: here's a photo of Sumner as he finished the final portion of the latest batch of homemade dog food. Yet again, he tackled it with vigor and enthusiasm, and this photo does not do enough to help you see the three grains of rice clinging to his sad nose, while that poor boy looked down with dejection and disappointment as it sunk in that the dinner was all gone.
"Vierling Saloon Cream of Chicken and Wild Rice Soup," formerly offered at the Vierling Saloon in Marquette, Michigan. This was first shared with me by my sister Allison Holden and her husband Tom, from Rossville, Indiana. Another online version of the recipe can be found at Miss Mary's Blog.
"South Carolina-Style Pimento Cheese." Recipe worked out by me, based on Sharon's Palmetto Pimento Cheese.
"Creamy Stuffed Eggs," a recipe shared with me by Barbara Huneycutt of Crozet, VA.