best houseguests ever

We hosted the best houseguests ever this weekend, and I'm not just saying that because they're a) related to me and b) likely to read this. Really. They arrived Thursday morning on the red eye, just in time to watch Nick for me (he had a cold, I had to go to work). I spent a long day in the office, and they cooked dinner. (Remember, they'd come in on the red eye. From the west coast.) They brought presents, including this. They brought chocolate.

Visits with my sister involve lots of cooking. Together or separately we made chocolate guinness cake (which was just as good as Becca said), trifle (from this cookbook, very easy!) , strata (we made basically this recipe, only tried some variations with plain cheese, artichoke/mushroom, and fresh spinach instead of the frozen called for here), and lemon linguine (another Nigella favorite), just to name the linkable recipes. Much of the cooking is ad hoc, though, and since they are vegetarians we end up eating better or at least more interestingly than usual. Maybe it's not because they're vegetarians; maybe it's just because they have a different repertoire. In any event, it was fun.

I had too much work to do, and there was too much else going on, for it to be one of those long, lazy visits that are so satisfying. We did that last year when we shared a beach house for a week. This time, though, it was Easter, and Mariah's confirmation, and an Easter brunch for a group, and way more church than any one weekend should be required to bear, and lots of coughing and sniffling (everyone had some kind of cold thing going on). Still, it was fun. And I was actually prepared for class today, against all expectations. But now I need some rest.