I write this on the afternoon of the Sunday, having successfully hosted a dinner for seven people with six dishes last night. It. Felt. So good. Not just for feeding people, but the fact that I got to experiment around with recipes (more on that in an incoming piece), had chance to talk to people, got practice in making more, and generally learning the rules of hosting and feeding people. For example, due to the logistical issues yesterday, I had to do three 'rounds': first round in popcorn snacks, then thenthuk as starter, and rice in the end because there was no way to have people maintain their temper until everything was cooked. This makes me understand that as long as I prep the ingredients early on , I don't have to have prepared everything by the time the guests arrive, because I can always just prepare as I go, as long as the crowd is being fed. And in a list of six or seven or eight items, it's okay to have one or two or even three experimental good, as long as people know that they are not guaranteed hits.
As again, my ultimate goal is to host at least one, and ideally two dinners a week, inviting different groups of people, and make the task of cooking for groups of eight to ten like the back of my hand. It takes planning and organization, but nothing fifteen minutes of pausing and preparing won't solve. Plus, that's actually the favourite part of the activity, managing all the competing things going on, being on top of them, and always getting so near to failing and disappointing, but always coming up on top in the end.
As always, that might be a bit afar, but one never knows, maybe things will workout the way I want I want it to. Paper plates and utensils, and an hour in prep time plus whatever time it takes to cook while guests are in should be fun. What a coup that would be, to be able to learn to cook rapidly under pressure!
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