It’s truly awesome when plans come to fruition. All that hard work, sweat, tears (in some cases) adding up to success.
I’m of course talking about a couple of things: my sister coming to visit, my dinner party going without a hitch, and a good Valentine’s Day.
My left shoulder is finally healed from the trip I made to the grocery store on Saturday where I ended up getting 61 pounds (I weighed it when I got home) of groceries and carrying it back from the Harris Teeter a mile back to my apartment. Near the end, it did become a struggle!
The dinner party did not go as planned, as my attempts to clean my apartment, get groceries, and prepare the food went with a few hitches. For one, I had bought dry chickpeas that day and started boiling them. They took… forever. Three hours, in fact, before they softened up enough to be pureed in with the rest of the ingredients for the hummus. Luckily, my sister arrived at the party in time to help me set up everything else. I was able to get the brownies and roasted/curried nuts done, and was in the middle of preparing the chicken for the chicken cordon bleu when the first guests arrived. Not thinking properly, I answered the phone (hooked up in my apartment for the doorbell) with chicken covered hands. Yes, I know, gross. And at that point, the party was on!
I was still stressed, running about the kitchen (which only has about 20 square feet of room) getting this ready and that cooked, when one of my friends chipped in to help. Haha, he works next to me at my job too, so we were used to working in close quarters! With his help and my sister’s help, we got most of the food out to my guests. After the rest of the chicken cordon bleu was cooked, all that was left were the corn soufflés. I don’t think I’ve ever made something so fast, with lightning quick moves to separate all the 6 egg yolks, then get the mixture ready, and lastly put it in the oven. My friend asked me, “Hey is there anything else I can get you?” and I immediately said “A beer.” It was definitely satisfying.
The food ended up being a hit once it had gotten to everyone. It went well with the assortment of wines that everyone had brought. On a side note, my fridge is again filled with alcoholic beverages. Once the corn soufflés were ready, everyone loved them. I had the Olympics on for people to watch (muted) from time to time, with conversations pausing when a crazy trick was made in moguls or a crash in speed skating. With the moguls, I think everyone that watches it feels the pain in their knees from the competitors!
All in all, it was a great party. Lessons were learned about preparing food ahead of time, but a lesson from my previous party was also learned. There was absolutely no parking chaos to be had, as I was recommended a certain church parking lot by my dad and it worked out perfectly. Another lesson: before boiling chickpeas, soak them in water the night before!
Sunday I spent with my family, showing my sister the Kettler and even watching the end of a Challenge Cup game (junior women’s hockey) that had some hard hits but a lopsided score (an 11-1 beatdown). I eventually made it to my parents’ house for the first time since the snowpocalypse. I would spend 5 hours (with a break in the middle) shoveling out a parking spot in a 4 foot tall snow bank. I have finally stopped feeling sore from that a full day later.
Picked up the game Tatsunoko vs. Capcom Ultimate All Stars and I am absolutely loving it! Basically if you’ve never heard of the game it’s exactly like the Marvel vs. Capcom games with 2 on 2 tag based gameplay. The characters and environments, however, are made in complete 3-D with cel-shading. I was really happy to recognize some of the old Tatsunoko anime characters that I have only seen at past Otakons where I had no idea who they were at the time. There’s a lot to unlock in this game, so I’ve got a lot to do with the game!
This weekend was absolutely awesome, but now I must get to bed for another day of work. Here’s to another good set of days!
Currently listening to (and watching): Tatsunoko vs. Capcom Ultimate All Stars
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