The Dinner!

After a few days of mental planning, 1 hour of shopping/prep, 4 hours of cooking and baking, and another 45 minutes in cleanup, I present the pictorial of my 10 person dinner (including me) for my father. I had to do the cleanup, because even if he DID do it, he would do it badly and things would be yucky. You know what the say, "if you want it done right, do it yourself". Ugh. However, I rocked it.

We started with hors d'oeuvres in the living room, of cheese, nuts & olives, and crackers.

We began dinner with an arugula salad dressed with extra virgin olive oil, lemon, and freshly grated parmesan.

Soup was French lentil, and while it becomes slightly "dry", the flavor was very good. I topped with a dollop of creme fraiche.

Dinner was my usual roast chicken, in this case, two. Hey, if you do it well, stick to it, right? Also were roasted vegetables, specifically red & green peppers, eggplant, and zucchini. Again, I actually impressed myself. Also for dinner was whole wheat couscous flavored with cumin, cinnamon, and honey. Really, cumin is the awesomest spice there is.

Dessert was a whole wheat apple cake (I was so worried about it!) and mixed berries.

I have to say, I'm impressed with myself. It was a challenge, especially with timing (would the chicken dry out?!), but it worked out great. I don't know if i would have been able to do this 2 years ago when I was heavier. My back hurts, and I assume tomorrow I will definitely wake up somewhat sore and tired from tonight. Fortunately, it doesn't look too painful of a day. Some envelope printing at Mom's and then my 10-year elementary school reunion. Wow, time flies.

Zoey left tonight. Melissa came and picked her up and I miss her. But, Melissa was such a doll and gave me $50 to Saks Fifth Avenue as a thank-you gift. Oooh, dangerous territory, YAY! I mean, I did save her about $700, but boy did I love it! Looks like I have some shopping to do now. Gee, darn. Such a rough life.

Right now, despite all the tiredness and usual "why is my Dad like a toddler who needs to be watched and followed with a Clorox wipe" type frustration, I feel good. I feel weak in muscles but strong in spirit. Gosh, that sounds so corny I want to gag myself, ha. I guess that means it is bedtime, when I get sappy.