My Twelfth Night pot luck went very well.
Ironically, twelve people attended. I heated up some Italian sausage and lentil soup I had previously made, cooked white beans with ham leftover from my New Year's lunch, and made cornbread and chili con queso with chips and toppings. I provided pickes, homemade bread (a gift from a colleague), red wine, canned drinks (I don't like to use plastic bottles), and pecan torte coffee. My guests brought pasta and chicken/mushroom marinara sauce, a bucket of KFC grilled chicken (which is a whole lot better than I thought it would be), a whole roasted chicken, rolls, a huge crudite` platter, almonds, white chocolate macadamia cookies, chocolate chocolate chip cookies, chocolate bread pudding with strawberries in a red wine reduction, assorted bottled sodas, sparkling white wine, and various snacks and sweets.
We had an enormous amount of food.
Afterwards, ten of us played dominoes until after 1 a.m. I was so exhausted that I only managed to load the dishwasher and turn it on, before I was out like a light on the sofa. I woke up at 5 a.m., brushed my teeth, took my meds, put on my pajamas, and went to bed. I slept until after 10 a.m. this morning.
I was going into the office today, but I just could't face it. So I have spent most of the day cleaning up after the party and restoring the house to pre-party condition. I used my good china, sterling, and crystal (stemware and serving pieces) to serve 12 people, and all that stuff has to be hand washed, towel dried, and then air dried for serveral hours, before it can be returned to the cabinets.
It takes a while.
I'm using the opportunity of being home all day today to catch up on my washing, and I plan on cooking for the rest of the week. I still have lots of lentil soup and white beans left, but a person can only eat so many servings of beans and lentils, before her ability to socialize in polite society is compromised. So I thought I would use the rest of the leftover roast chicken to make chicken and rice soup, and the rest of the red wine to make a nice marinara sauce.
We had an enormous amount of food.
Afterwards, ten of us played dominoes until after 1 a.m. I was so exhausted that I only managed to load the dishwasher and turn it on, before I was out like a light on the sofa. I woke up at 5 a.m., brushed my teeth, took my meds, put on my pajamas, and went to bed. I slept until after 10 a.m. this morning.
I was going into the office today, but I just could't face it. So I have spent most of the day cleaning up after the party and restoring the house to pre-party condition. I used my good china, sterling, and crystal (stemware and serving pieces) to serve 12 people, and all that stuff has to be hand washed, towel dried, and then air dried for serveral hours, before it can be returned to the cabinets.
It takes a while.
I'm using the opportunity of being home all day today to catch up on my washing, and I plan on cooking for the rest of the week. I still have lots of lentil soup and white beans left, but a person can only eat so many servings of beans and lentils, before her ability to socialize in polite society is compromised. So I thought I would use the rest of the leftover roast chicken to make chicken and rice soup, and the rest of the red wine to make a nice marinara sauce.