Entertaining Guests

Saturday evening we had our good friends, the Toyes, over for dinner. This was a WONDERFUL time of visiting and playing and laughing. However, dinner was not what I expected at ALL!

I consider myself to be a somewhat okay cook. I enjoy cooking and often experiment on dishes. I learned long ago NOT to make an experimental dish when cooking for company. So, fighting the urge to be creative, I decided to make "Chicken Stuff" (this is our family's variation on "Poppy-seed Chicken"), rice, and mixed veggies. Simple, right? I've been making this meal for years. I could do it blindfolded, in the woods, while on medication. Perfect plan for company. It's yummy, and I don't have to worry about glitches.

There were glitches.

I was in the middle of making the chicken dish when I realized I was out of one of the ingredients! This is a staple in my pantry that I'm NEVER without! Good grief. Well, some substitution did the trick and I was back on track. Then, I accidentally mixed two kinds of rice together so that half didn't cook at all and the other half OVER-cooked!! AAAAGH! Who can't make rice?! I've been making rice for years and years!! Good! Grief!

This threw me into such a tizzy that I completely forgot to put the vegetables on at all until just a few minutes before our friends' arrival. *sigh* I put them on, but they didn't get soft enough for my liking. I was so utterly deflated that I forgot at this point to even SEASON the rice and vegetables! Gross!

I served everything anyway and everyone was gracious...it just shows I'll never be prideful about my cooking!! Never!

Stupid rice.

At least dessert was perfect. That's probably because it hadn't encountered my kitchen. Kim Toye brought it from HER kitchen. Thanks, Kim. That peach pie saved the evening! :)

Well, this is what becomes of going so long without entertaining. Mark and I love to have people over, but we haven't done it since moving to Searcy. Now, we're getting back into it! I'm so excited! Obviously, I'll need lots of practice before we're any GOOD at it...but we're not giving up!

Now...who will our next victims be?...