One
of my sisters and I are kicking around a possible menu for a family
event we have coming up. And honestly, while things are going
fine so far, I’m waiting for things to slide a bit out of control.
That
isn’t anything directed at my sister. It’s my family’s way. And,
I’m guessing, it’s often the way things work with you as well.
Let’s
say you’re planning to head out back and toss something on the
grill for dinner. Few things are as simple and as satisfying as
a great summer evening, friends gathered, and food on the grill.
Could be a couple of hot dogs with potato salad, and later on
while making s’mores you’ll be smiling and thinking about how
great a night it’s been.
But
if you give yourself some time, it’s never going to be just hot
dogs and potato salad. That’s late in the game, cooking what you
got stuff. Given a day or two to prepare, you’re going to add
a couple bags of chips, corn on the cob, and perhaps buy a few
different types of beverages. Your friends are going to ask what
they can bring, and a few more items get added to the menu. (And,
the s’mores.)
The
story of what’s happening with my sister and I can be traced…
family tree style… to similar events Terry and I would plan.
It
starts out with hot dogs and burgers. The conversation drifts
quickly to people that only eat seafood or no meat at all. Perhaps
a few shrimp kabobs and a better assortment of veggies. And if
doing kabobs anyway, then steak and chicken and scallops might
be worth considering.
Hot
dogs and burgers have moved to steak and shrimp kabobs, grilled
eggplant and portobello mushroom caps, garden salad and potato
salad, banana boats made for dessert along with a few kinds of
homemade cookies. (And, of course, s’mores.)
My
sister… and massive applause and credit to her… wants to keep
things somewhat simple for the event. Nice. A few things from
nearby places and some stuff made at home that will be easy to
put together and not take up the entire fridge if made ahead of
time. Very good starting point.
My
issue is that none of the people in our family move along that
path for long. Flourishes arrive. At some point, hot dogs will
naturally progress toward salmon fillets. A casual gathering of
friends progresses to a bit of an event.
One
of the discussions we had been having was based on what types
of food might work as stuff ordered from restaurants. This was
not, to be fair, a hot dog event. It had already started as a
bit of a special occasion. I had mentioned things like seafood
(perhaps clam cakes and chowder), maybe adding pizza strips since
it was an outdoor thing, and then slid into wondering whether
or not crab rangoon worked on the same buffet table as calamari
and a fruit dip. And that’s when I realized I had spun out of
control.
I
was trying to keep almost all of the preparations out of the kitchen.
Good intentions, but not completely realistic. Also, you’d think
clam cakes and chowder is a pretty basic idea for a party. Fair
enough, but if you’re feed chowder to a party of people you’re
likely going to need a small loan from the bank to cover the cost.
(Seriously, I have no idea how plans that start with three bowls
of chowder and a dozen clam cakes consistently cost so much. No
idea.)
Crab
rangoon or pizza strips. Decide.
And
there we are. Why do we need to decide?
Is
it such a bad thing to take a base menu and add a few things to
it? Of course not. And sometimes, hot dogs and potato salad is
just going to be hot dogs and potato salad. (But admit it, you
kind of want some s’mores right now.)