Challenge Failed: Dang, I missed one

Oops. Looks like I missed a post yesterday. Disappointing. Oh well, back in the saddle.

Yesterday was a busy day for me. We threw together a Thanksgiving party for the people that are working on Thursday and won't be able to have a proper dinner that day. So I spent the entire day cooking with hostess extraordinaire Ali Williams.

Monday night, I found out that I was supposed to have been invited to this event but my text message got "lost in the mail" as it were. Ali's text have had trouble finding my phone in the past (now I wonder what other texts I've missed) so it wasn't terribly surprising. I had heard that it was a possibility and had left my schedule open for it, but it was still nice to have it confirmed finally. And since neither of us had gotten the food we were supposed to be bringing to the dinner yet, we resolved to go on a late night shopping run together.

Long story short, what started as "get the missing ingredients for the chicken & dumplings" and me getting a couple cans of corn turned into 7 dishes, pie (store bought), whipped cream and gravy. Because I felt somewhat responsible for allowing Ali to take on that many additional dishes to prepare (and frankly encouraged it more than a few times), I offered to help her with the cooking. She gratefully accepted as I think her excitement had gotten a bit ahead of her during the shopping.

It was quite an experience. Ali had been buzzed on Red Bull when we were shopping so she had stayed up, after she got home, working on a plan to get everything done and out the door on time for the dinner. She went through... must have been 5 or 6 rough drafts before settling on a final plan. With the two hour cooking session planned down to the minute, we were ready to start. Very ready even.

In hindsight, I can't imagine her attempting to do that cooking session on her own. I'm sure she could have pulled it off but it would have taken her a lot more time and a LOT more work. As the assistant, I mostly took on menial tasks that allowed her to stay focused on the big picture and the dishes I have no idea how to make (mostly the sweet potato casserole and chicken and dumplings, both from scratch). I mostly was just cleaning dishes, slicing veggies, setting out rolls on the baking sheet, etc.

When it was all said and done, we figured we had enough food that we could have put on our own thanksgiving feast by ourselves. Not only had we gotten everything made, but we got it done precisely on schedule as well. We put those sitcom Thanksgivings to shame. Go team!

Dinner was a great time and everyone loved the food we made, which is always the greatest reward for two hours in a kitchen. I enjoy cooking but rarely get the chance to cook for people (which is way more rewarding than cooking for myself or for leftovers) so I was very happy about that. I was pretty tired after all the cooking and subsequent eating of food, so I wasn't much for conversation after dinner unfortunately (if I had a dollar for every person that asked if I was ok after dinner, I would have been able to cover my costs for the night). I was fine, I was just digesting and wanted to do it quietly while watching a movie. Something that's hard to do when the movie is muted and there's 30 people talking everywhere. But I digress.

I realized yesterday that, as much as it sucks being away from family for Thanksgiving (again), it's a cool opportunity to try different dishes and traditions that are not a part of my upbringing. I got to try my hand at cooking a lot of new dishes that I've never attempted before and eat some others. It was a great day all around.