Visiting Frank and Dana

Frank and Dana's house is very old, just like Frank's first house, and like Frank's first house it has a large lawn and outbuildings. They have three cats. One of the cats is very insistent about coming into the bedroom through the window at about 6:30 am.
Frank and Dana are in Ireland, and we are in Connecticut for Duncan's 55 [!] reunion from Wesleyan. We're staying here for one night, and they told us we could "use anything we wanted" in the kitchen.
I've always thought it would be great to stay in other people's houses so I could read all their books. At Frank and Dana's, I want to drink all of Frank's wine and use all of Dana's cookbooks.
The kitchen is full of everything you need to prepare a wonderful supper. I found a brownish green pepper, and Duncan found the garlic, and cooked them together in oil. Duncan found a half an onion in the fridge, so that went in too. I probably should have taken the vegetable mix out of the frying pan before I put in the veggie burgers, but I didn't and they survived anyway.
I added a scant 1/2 tsp of Thai curry paste, and feeling slightly guilty, about 2T of the incredible Chateau Neuf du Pape that Frank had left for us. Mixed all that about and served the vegetables on the veggie burgers. The only bad thing was that I wiped my nose after I sliced the peppers and suffered from nose burn all the way through dinner.
[Note: always taste peppers before cooking them if you don't know their hotness -- and only taste a tiny bit!]
So that was dinner -- veggie burgers with a wonderful, rich sauce. And salad with chopped dried tomatoes. The salad was wonderful, I realized. Way better than mine. And I think I've found the reason -- the balsamic vinegar cost $16. I know that's a crass way to put it, but it does suggest that they may be going for somewhat higher end stuff than I do. It was so worth it. I read the whole label and found that it was sold by Williams Sonoma.
Now let's talk about the wine. Frank's Chatneau Neuf du Pape was amazing. As we drank it we found ourselves trying to describe it -- hints of cherry, something that reminded us of chocolate and raspberry. And we didn't finish the bottle. It was a whole different experience, not at all like opening the usual $10 Merlot or Cab and drinking it down with dinner.
As I wandered around the kitchen trying to figure out what to make for dinner, I realized how like my kitchen theirs is. The basic equipment, and lots of condiments from all over the world. Hot sauces, peanut sauces, cans of this and bottles of that. You could cook for weeks and never have to repeat.