Family Dinner

Over the last year I've had more and more occasions to feel like an actual adult. Everything from taking care of a dog to saving money to finding a new, better job have contributed to my realization that I may be able to pull off this grown up thing after all. The most recent such moment was a week or so ago when we had Kevin's family over for dinner.

The amazing part about all of this was that we were serving twelve people and I didn't get stressed at all. Somehow I'd figured out things like how to put together a menu and time the food. I'd also managed top internalize the fact that it ultimately doesn't matter. The food will probably be good, but even if it isn't the evening won't be a total disaster.

Kevin roasted a leg of lamb and cooked his family's rice pilaf recipe. I glazed some carrots and roasted some asparagus. We served this with wine and rolls (though we forgot to put the rolls out). It was actually all really straight-forward. Mostly because we chose simple recipes that were easy to double (or quintuple in the case of the carrots). We also let our guests handle appetizers and desserts. The one tense moment when everything seemed to be done at once was made much easier by Kevin's uncle lending a helping hand.

The dinner was an unmitigated success. The food was delicious and the company was easy-going. If you'd told me a year ago that I could successfully throw a dinner party, I wouldn't have believed you. Honestly, you should have seen how stressed I was about our first Thanksgiving. But now that we have a couple of successes under our belt, I'm feeling more confident about the whole hosting thing. It makes me wish my family lived closer so I could start hosting dinners for them, too.

In case anyone is interested, here are my super simple veggie recipes:

Carrots:
Per pound of carrots, you need: 1 cup water, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 2 TBSP butter, dash of salt, lots of pepper (I keep wishing I'd put more pepper in these, but it's really to taste). Throw everything in a pot and bring it to a boil. Then simmer until the carrots are tender (~20 minutes)

Asparagus:
Coat the asparagus with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper (I'm still figuring out more complicated spices, but feel free to add those, too, if you think it's a good idea.) Heat the oven to 400 and put the asparagus in. They need to cook for 5-20 minutes depending on how thick they are, but ideally you want them to still be bright green and crisp. I usually overcook mine a tad, but no one complains. When they come out, sprinkle with parmesan cheese.