About

About Intentionally Entertaining

Intentionally Entertaining is a blog founded by Michelle & Andrew—we are a couple living in the suburban wilds of Ottawa, Canada who love to entertain friends and family, particularly at the dinner table. The purpose of this blog is for us to chronicle our attempts to integrate entertaining into our lives in a more thoughtful manner. We want entertaining to be a seamlessly enjoyable aspect of our regular lives and want to share tips & tricks—trials & tribulations—with the like-minded out there.

Intentionally Entertaining is also a venue for us to write about food, cookbooks, arts & crafts and any other even tangentially related topic.

Andrew on Michelle:

Michelle is a lovely young(ish) professional with several degrees who toils ceaselessly in the bowels of a large Canadian Federal Government department—defying the odds to try and make a difference in this world. She was born and raised in Kingston Ontario—which probably accounts for military men and ex-cons being on her “undateable” list—settling in Ottawa after attending university.

Michelle dislikes onions but has come to terms with shallots and leeks. She has a soft spot for comfort food like pierogi and pasta in creamy cheese sauces. Liquor in general tends to loosen her tongue, but port made from sun-dried grapes is the quickest way into her…affections.

Michelle is a consummate hostess whose entertaining strengths lie in theme design, invitations, event planning, table arrangements and creating an atmosphere of welcome.

Beyond entertaining, her hobbies also include knitting and other crafty means of self-expression. She also has the uncanny ability to sleep any damn time and place she chooses.

You can contact her directly at michelle@intentionallyentertaining.com.

Michelle on Andrew:

He reads cookbooks as regular books for crying out loud!

The first year we were together, we only had repeated meals 5 times and he was cooking several times per week. Except to bake his ever-popular corn bread, or to make a complex scratch curry or complex mole sauce, he doesn’t use a recipe.

He can make a 3-course meal for 6 from a pantry I would call ‘empty.’ When it comes to cooking, he simply understands how to put things together… and how to make them the tastiest version of that dish you’ve ever had.

His late onset OCD tendencies see him deconstructing every meal, always aiming for better technique, consistency or timing… and making sure his fancy knives are in order.

Raised just south of Ottawa, Andrew lived far more life than I… most notably raising Harry—the kid that even wins the hearts of those who don’t like kids.

Having more talents than he knows, it’s his search for inspiration and purpose that keep us writing and generally seeking fun together and I love him for it.

You can contact him directly at host@intentionallyentertaining.com.