 |
| Our kitchen. |
Since lasagna feeds a crowd, we called our friends to see if they had plans. It worked out perfectly for them because they were just returning from an overnight camping trip. They said yes, and our dinner date was set.
As the smell of baking lasagna filled the house, I realized that our table only seats four...and we were having a dinner party for seven. Oops. Now what?
I decided to take a page from my mother-in-law's book and "eat in shifts" as she says! (She's used to cooking for a crowd!) So, when our guests arrived with a bottle of wine and dessert (or pudding, as they say), I poured us each a glass of wine and fixed up the kids' plates. While the kids ate in the kitchen, we sat in the living room and talked. Only a few times did Ollie, smeared with red sauce, run into our living room (with its white couch!) and ask for "MORE ZANNYA, MOMMY."
My friend J and I wiped down faces and hands, cleared and wiped down the table while Mike and L set up a TV show for the kids to watch. Then the adults ate.
I say it's minimalist entertaining because we didn't have enough seats, I had to wash plates between courses (kids' plates did double duty as dessert plates later), and we all ate right in our small kitchen. It was a bit tight--and hot since I'd had the oven on for over an hour--so opening the french doors to the back courtyard relieved any clausterphobia we might have otherwise felt.
That was fine, since Mike and L and the kids all sort of wandered out there from time to time. It was a nice evening; the rain had cleared and, of course, it was still daylight even at 9:00pm.
We let the kids stay up until almost 10:00pm (still daylight!) since there's no school tomorrow.
Cleaning up was a cinch--minimalist again--because I'd hardly dirtied any dishes and had already cleaned up after the kids' meal. Four dinner plates, four salad bowls, four dessert plates, four wine glasses, cutlery. In the tiny dishwasher. Done.
With our first dinner party behind us, I think we'll have to do it again soon!
