Homeward Bound, Part II

Gainesville

The Panna Cotta wasn't an unqualified success, but it wasn't a disaster, either. I ate one of them this morning, just to see how they would be. Tasted great, but a bit on the sloppy side. Sandy suggested maybe the gelatin was too old and got damp-- it isn't dated, so I didn't think that would matter. The packets seemed well sealed, and the stuff dry. Sprinkling it over the half cup of milk and letting it stand that way seemed weird. Maybe I didn't let the cream get hot enough-- I took it off the heat as soon as it began to show the first few bubbles. Maybe I just didn't whisk it vigorously enough. At any rate, the gelatin was clearly the key problem.

Just as I was ready to serve it tonight, Doug called-- he and Bill talked til about 10:15, which made for a late dessert. As with the morning trial, I was unable to get the blob of Panna centered in either bowl. Also, I don't have a "thin metal spatula," so used a rubber one, further adding to the mess. Bill pronounced it pretty good approximation of what Sandy made, so I guess that is praise enough. He opted to have strawberries on his; I stuck with blueberries.

Dinner was very thin boneless pork chops with peppers, onions and mushrooms in a sauce that never thickened. Seems to be the theme for the day. Blanched broccoli and Tex-Mex slaw as sides.

Got the floors and the rugs Blessed, towels changed and laundered. Gradually getting things back up to speed.

Continuing the journey home: Friday was an uneventful day, except for two maddenly slow construction delays in northern IL that cost us at least an hour. We did have some solace, however, in realizing that during this stop-and-go traffic, we used NO gasoline whatsoever, even with AC going. A certain smug self-satisfaction can ease this sort of frustration quite nicely.

We got as far as Mount Vernon, IL when it seemed time to stop for the night. As we were deciding which of the three exits to try, I spotted a small billboard for a Holiday Inn-- NOT one of the spartan "Express" variety, and it listed a sports bar as an amenity. It turned out to be a huge, very nice hotel and conference center. The sports bar was lively and filled with locals, excellent food and a great bar. Bill had a full breakfast in the hotel the next morning, and was stunned to find out it was free-- seems there was a hot-breakfast war going on among the local hotels. Cool! The only drawback to the place had to be the water-- stinky and undrinkable. Other than that, the contrast between Thursday and Friday nights couldn't have been more stark. The real shocker was that it cost only seven bucks more than the Menomonie place!

To be continued.