Almost Artful: Hosting a Dinner

One thing I remember about Thanksgiving--besides the awesome food and gravy--is my mom slaving away in the kitchen. No matter how much prep work she would do (and it was a lot) she would always be working hard at the last minute to get all the food out. She would say how hard it was to really enjoy the food when you were so stressed out from getting it all together. She would also always quote Julia Child-- "You're alone in the kitchen, who's to know"-- and then scoff at the open plan of our house that resulted in everyone clustered around the counter staring at her.

I just thought she was being over dramatic... until I prepared a simple chicken dinner for 2 friends.

I did all the prep work I could. The potatoes were chopped, peeled and in the boiling water when the guests came. The green beans washed, snipped and ready to go in their pot. The chicken finished and resting, table set and simple hors d'oeuvres sitting out with champagne. And yet...

I ended up feeling rather frantic in a poorly ventilated kitchen for the better part of an hour trying to get everything together. All there was left to do was mash the potatoes, cook the green beans and carve the chicken. Oh and make gravy. Actually that sounds like a lot left to do now that I think about it. During this time my friends (thankfully) stayed out of the kitchen for the most part. I was so hot in there and sweating a little that my hair fell completely flat and I swear my mascara started to smudge. When we finally set down to eat, I was so worked up I didn't even taste the food.

I did still enjoy the company though and I bet it gets easier the more you do it, so I would have people over for dinner again. There are no pictures of the food but I did take some pictures of things beforehand. I am a perfectionist, so while my guests probably didn't notice I had to make sure that the table was set properly.

The table ready for guests

My mom always insisted on my sister and me doing this for family dinners because she felt it was important for use to know which side the fork goes on, how the napkin should be folded etc. in case we were ever asked to do it at someone's house.

She had a diagram like this taped to the inside of a cabinet (and I believe she still does today--the diagram was packed up and moved with other kitchen belongings)

And as I consulted this diagram online to figure out how the water and wine glasses were to be arranged, I actually considered printing it out and taping it inside my cabinet too...

I also got some flowers from Trader Joe's. I bought a bunch of pink African roses and a bundle of lavender which smelled wonderful. It probably would have been better in a vase with a wider opening but this was all I had--and it only cost about $8! Trader Joe's is a great place to get flowers (and lots of other stuff too)