Entertaining

JD and I hosted playgroup this week. Our playgroup consists of six or seven main families. We are joined by several other families from time to time. The families rotate houses on a weekly basis.

This week was our turn. One thing I had noticed was that my friends have trouble finding parking near our house. I had noticed that parking was more abundant closer to 9am and would close up slowly over time. Our group normally meets at 9:30am with an open house style, meaning you can show up any time thereafter.

I decided to invite people to come over from 9am. One way I thought I could do that would be to offer breakfast to everyone. I announced that I would have french toast and a selection of egg creations. The response was collectively positive.

Preparation was good on one front and poor on another. The good: I had all of my ingredients. Eggs, challah, frozen chopped spinach, canned diced tomatoes, shredded cheese, milk, OJ, etc. The place was clean. The bad: I didn't get my ingredients ready to go for line-cook efficiency. I found myself defrosting the spinach, opening the can of tomatoes, and preparing chorizo, all of which could have been done earlier, if not last night.

I would have been okay had my coffee making not gone awry. I have the Cuisinart Grind 'n' Brew. Everything was added and I pushed the button. Five-ish minutes later, one boy said, "Something's dripping." Long story short, I hadn't put in a filter. It was a mess that took about fifteen minutes to clean. That screwed everything. I probably could have had breakfast on the table around 9:45, but it wasn't done till 10:30am. It was still yummy, just took too long!

What to do next time? Set the table and have ingredients prepared the night before. That would have saved me lots of time. Also, confirm the guest list, as I wasn't completely sure who was coming, though everyone responded in a timely fashion. Finally, set the menu without giving choices. One meat, one veggie, one plain dish. Everyone loves French toast and pancakes, so pick one and stick to it.

Everything was delicious, so I'm sure they'll give me another chance!