First impressions are so important! When I meet people for the first time--especially people that I want to think well of me, I try to carefully orchestrate the occasion. Last night I invited my new son-in-law-to-be's parents to dinner. My daughter is going to be a part of their family and so I really wanted to impress them. It's interesting that almost every important occasion revolves around food--on second thought almost every occasion (important or not) revolves around food. I've agonized over this menu for weeks. Sam, my daughter, insisited that Jon's parents are quite traditional and I should stick with meat and potatoes--how impressive can you be with meat and potatoes? I finally settled on a menu of green veggie salad, baked salmon with mango salsa, parmesan potatoes, roasted asparagas, whole wheat hot rolls, and carrot cake with slow-churned caramel pecan ice cream for dessert.
I bought a new red table cloth with red napkins to go with my white china. As I ironed the cloth and napkins to set the table it dawned on me that I should have purchased navy napkins for a bit of contrast. For about a half a second I wondered if my Heaven Father would consider this an ox-in-the-mire situation if I ran quickly to Walmart for navy napkins but I thought better of the notion. At the last minute I googled napkin folding and I chose a rosebud fold (http://www.customlinenservice.com/rosebud.htm) and centered the napins in the center of each plate.
Did I make a good impression? I don't know--I'm dying to talk with Sam and get a report. In retrospect I wonder if I have my priorities right--was the night really all about the food?
I have a couple of challenges for this week: What does your mom (or spouse or even you) cook when you want to make a good impression? Include the recipe if possible. Or based on our reading from How We Eat, what is the strangest food that you have ever eaten and what were the circumstances?
I bought a new red table cloth with red napkins to go with my white china. As I ironed the cloth and napkins to set the table it dawned on me that I should have purchased navy napkins for a bit of contrast. For about a half a second I wondered if my Heaven Father would consider this an ox-in-the-mire situation if I ran quickly to Walmart for navy napkins but I thought better of the notion. At the last minute I googled napkin folding and I chose a rosebud fold (http://www.customlinenservice.com/rosebud.htm) and centered the napins in the center of each plate.
Did I make a good impression? I don't know--I'm dying to talk with Sam and get a report. In retrospect I wonder if I have my priorities right--was the night really all about the food?
I have a couple of challenges for this week: What does your mom (or spouse or even you) cook when you want to make a good impression? Include the recipe if possible. Or based on our reading from How We Eat, what is the strangest food that you have ever eaten and what were the circumstances?
7 comments:
This probably isn't the response you're looking for, but it certainly fits into the "special occasions" umbrella. My family has seven kids (which in places outside of Utah is considered a lot). And whenever my mom wanted to announce that she was pregnant, she'd serve us shrimp cocktail for dinner. I distinctly remember one night in which we sat down to the table and my mom set down a big plate of the stuff, wearing a mischievious little smile. Said my dad: "Uh, Honey, did you want to tell us something?..."
I wouldn't to much about your priorities, I don't know if your meeting was all about the food, but it couldn't hurt to really throw down an awesome meal. Sounds like it was really good, I'm sure they were impressed. To answer your question the strangest food I've ever eaten was probably on my mission in Taiwan where chicken feet is a favorite. I remember the first time I saw a little chicken claw float to the top of my soup my first week there... very surprising.
Oh I wouldn't worry, I'm sure they liked you and the food...which by the way sounds AMAZING!! The strangest food I have ever eaten was in my hometown in Southern California. One day my dad and I went over to an elderly sister's house to put up a ceiling fan that we had bought for her. She was so thankful for us, that while my dad and I were putting it up she made dinner. She is from Armenia, so the food was Armenian as well. If you ask me, it was the strangest thing ever, and it tasted horrible! There was a chilled cucumber soup which looked like it was made of sliced cucumbers, some slightly sour creamy base, and chunks of ice. Then there was this stuff that looked like meat, but did not taste like it. It was gross, but I ate it anyway to be nice...and smothered it with ketchup.
I have had my fair share of interesting meals. I served as a missionary in the Philippines. Your challenge actually prompted my blog entry for this week. I have eaten cat, dog, bat, frog, bugs, leaves, and many other strange things.
Whenever I want to impress someone with my cooking, I usually make stir fry. it is simple and delicious. Just mix up all sorts of veggies, all the good sauces, and a little bit of magic; let it simmer, and voila... it's time to eat.
Well if they weren't impressed you should know that I sure am and will always find an opening in my schedule to be the guinea pig for homemade recipes. As long as you aren't so involved in the kitchen that you don't have time to really chat with the in-laws and sit and enjoy the food, then I think it was great what you did to make an impression.
My family almost always makes homeade enchiladas when guests come. They're not just any enchiladas, the sauce is homeade, and takes practically a day to prepare, so we have portions of it in the freezer for when we need it. We also serve homeade spanish rice, quacomole, and my dads roasted tomatoe/chipotle salsa, and sundry side dishes... delicious
It is really quite interesting how much we worry about creating a first impression with someone else. When food is involved, this all just becomes much more complicated doesn't it? I remember when my parents were going to meet my in-laws for the first time... my mom was in the same kind of dilemma as you found yourself in.
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