Cooking Adds Up (1/3)

Part Two

Part Three

I am tired. I was severely mistaken in my time management today, but I loved every bit of it. Teaming up with a good friend we made a dinner in which we would serve fifteen different people. Each person would receive an appetizer, an entree, and a desert. In addition, hors-d'oeuvre were set out at the beginning of the event. This was our first time ever partaking in an event where we would be cooking foods and before it even began we were estactic.

I arrived at my friend's house early in the morning. While never having cooked a large meal before, we did understand that we would need a large amount of time to prepare. When I entered my friend's house he was still getting ready for the day, and so we started out just chatting as he finished up his morning needs. Near ten o'clock they were finished and we started the setup. The first thing we did was create the outside environment that we desired. We needed a long table to fit fifteen people with enough chairs, an area where drinks could be served, and places where the hors-d'oeuvre could be placed. This all went smoothly, giving us a strong breeze at the start of the journey. The next thing on our list was something we both were really looking for. We were going to go get cheese at a very nice local cheese shop. The shop lets you taste any cheese you were thinking about getting, giving just enough pleasure to tide you over until the cheese was actually used. We ended up leaving the store with a really nice cheddar and goat cheese. After this exciting adventure, we needed to do some monotonousness bookkeeping. We made a list of foods we were serving and had previously surveyed the people coming to roughly know what each person would order. With this information, we checked what was already in the house to cross off some foods. At the end of this bookkeeping, there was still a massive list that needed to be answered. With this list in hand, we headed off to the nearest grocery store, a grocery store my friend actually worked at. When we entered the building there was one thing that was on the top of our list. All of the moving we had done to set up the outside area and the driving to the cheese shop and grocery store had left us famished. Inside they had premade sandwiches and sushi for sale. We each took one, with him getting a turkey sandwich and me some salmon sushi. After our nourishment, the true battle began.

Our grocery list was filled from top to bottom with random different foods that each different meal needed. Moving from aisle to aisle we tried to get every important ingredient that was in each of them. We did not succeed. The sheer amount of items we had to get was daunting, but some of the stuff like cornmeal was a one in a million find. To get these evasive items we needed to ask the worker behind the help desk for their location, not even the cashiers, or my friend who was a cashier at the store knew where these things were placed. As the time ticked down for when the guests would arrive, we tried to quickly get our way through the cashier stand. Our seven bag plus load was quite the slog for the single cashier to check out and bag, so to speed things up my off work friend jumped into action performing his bagging duties. It still took a long time to make it through the items. Our car pulled up and it was time to show our muscles. We each grabbed around two bags, for a total of two heavy trips for both of us. Then came the sorting as the refrigerated items had to be smooshed into the packed refrigerator. With all the groceries home and put away it was time to finalize the outside area. Together we worked on putting out table clothes and silverware, finishing around the time our first guest came. Quickly another came, and both of them helped put the finishing touches on the area. After working hard, and being out in the hot sun, our bodies were sweaty and gross. To put an end to this disaster of looks we each took a shower, and clean clothes on. Our new clothes were cheftastic, looking like pure spiffiness. With a bit under a half hour until the majority of guests arrived we started on the hors-d'oeuvre. These were quick and so by the time the next person came they were almost done. The dinner was beginning.

Part Two Coming Soon.