be my guest
I enjoy cooking. I do. I like having a reason to cook, making a list of the ingredients I’ll need, going to the store and buying those ingredients, seeing which of those ingredients have any coupons I can apply, and so on. It has to be said, however, that the cooking doesn’t always go the way it’s supposed to. Usually it’s not a problem because I’m either cooking for just me, or for me and one other person who cares about me and really doesn’t care what I cook or how it turns out. Where I have absolutely no confidence is in my ability to cook food that actually looks good. Good enough to serve to others, perhaps in a dinner party type of setting. I just don’t know how to present the food, how to serve it, what to serve it in, and ultimately how to make it look like more than a sad green salad and a pot of soup, for instance.
In preparation for 2022, I made a list of things I wanted to do this year, many of them being things I wanted to challenge myself to tackle, and one of them was to host people for dinner. This was a small gathering, and I’ll be the first to admit that. I’ll also admit that I still don’t think the food looked like anything spectacular. But it tasted good, and considering I made an appetizer, a main course, two sides, and a dessert makes me feel like I really crushed it. I mean, this was a DINNER. From using so many dishes to finally breaking out the napkins and napkin rings a friend gifted me last year as a housewarming gift, I love being the host, and it’s made me feel like it’s something I could do again.
Fall is a good time for this. For cooking and baking, yes, but also for gatherings, for parties. I loved hosting my friends and catching up about all the things going on in our lives. Work updates, health updates, family updates, even holiday updates (they all loved my Halloween decorations!). They wanted to know about my new book, which is only half written, but it’s a meaty subject, so we had a great discussion about some of the results from the survey I had sent out in preparation for this book. I guess what I’m saying is that it’s Fall, and you should invite your friends over for some good food and good company. I recommend bread pudding for dessert! (With bourbon caramel sauce, of course ; )