Dinner Failure

[Reptyle]

I'm still wicked frustrated with myself and embarrassed from last night.

We had some friends over for impromptu dinner and game night. Decided I'd make something nice and picked up a rump roast, make some ratatouille, potato layonnaise, and asparagus. I knew I was pushing it for time, not getting home til after 5, but figured I could do it no problem.

I could not.

I was just making so many stupid mistakes while rushing. The ratatouille was sloppily assembled(and honestly I could have done a better job cutting the squash). Also, the herb/oil could have been spread better and it wasn't covered properly.
I should have used more butter and no oil on the potatoes and probably added more salt.
The asparagus was over-cooked trying to keep it warm.

The worst and most embarrassing was the beef. Firstly, it was under-salted and seasoned, but worse I was a moron. I panicked trying to get everything warm and instead of letting it cool and settle I freaking overcook it.
After having it just about perfect.
To crown it off, everyone has now been waiting, so I panick and cut the beef while it's still hot ‍♂.

I can't even tell you what I was thinking, I wasn't even drinking!

Needless to say dinner was a disappointment and embarrassment. Especially after one of them had gotten super excited about me cooking and everyone on the chat was looking forward to dinner.

I knew that if I just had kept my cool and planned things right I could have avoided the worst of the mistakes easily.
Lesson learned for the future I suppose. Anyway, thanks for attending my rant!

 

[larrybard]

Sorry to hear, but I'm willing to bet that not only were all your guests gracious -- and complimentary -- but this was an instance when you were by far your own harshest critic. That's pretty typical, especially when entertaining guests and setting high expectations/standards for yourself.

My main criterion of success when preparing dinner for a guest is that they don't get indigestion, and actually finish what was on their plate. Maybe even smiling.

 

[deltaplex]

I had this happen to me as well. I've found it's best to take the time needed and let people know that things will be later than I expected rather than feeling time pressure and letting anxiety lead me to simple errors that I beat myself up about. Hopefully next time will be better!

 

[McMan]

"Dinner's not ready yet. Here's more booze."

--Works 9 times out of 10. Also makes dinner taste better 10 times out of 10.

 

[Reptyle]

"Dinner's not ready yet. Here's more booze."

--Works 9 times out of 10. Also makes dinner taste better 10 times out of 10.

Here is a wise man.

 

[sumis]

no shame.

everytime i cook i try to learn something new. meaning: i continuously learn, for sure, but most of the meals i cook are … a crapshoot.
since i rarely go back and actually play it safe or follow strict recipes, i've made peace with the fact that 'interesting' is as much of a goal as 'good'.
now, guests might feel different, but that's where the alcohol comes in.

did a smaller catering gig (50 ppl), for the first time, a few weeks ago. of course i played it safer and was super prepared. but i'm all for winging it otherwise.

cook. drink. fail. in any order you like. it's all good.

.

 

[mengwong]

Good on you for an ambitious plan!

In my experience there is no such thing as “dinner and game night” — there’s only “dinner night maybe plus games” and “game night plus maybe food”.

Citation: Sandwich, 1762. The Food Timeline: history notes--sandwiches

 

[boomchakabowwow]

i feel your pain. i put way too much pressure on myself when i cook for friends. most of them are cavemen and couldnt tell i burnt the browned butter anyways. i think everyone appreciates the effort including your guest. i bet they had a great time.

i have since minimized my dinner plans with friends. mostly stuff i already cooked and i can pull out of a warm oven. i want to have fun too, so i dont want too much cooking left to do.

 

[mengwong]

Similar sentiment – after this happened to me a few times, I got in the habit of keeping a pre-cooked sous-vide pork belly porchetta in the freezer. Of course, you still need some notice to thaw the log-of-hog, so that wouldn’t work in a totally impromptu situation. But it is nice to have around.

 

[boomchakabowwow]

Similar sentiment – after this happened to me a few times, I got in the habit of keeping a pre-cooked sous-vide pork belly porchetta in the freezer. Of course, you still need some notice to thaw the log-of-hog, so that wouldn’t work in a totally impromptu situation. But it is nice to have around.

DAAANG!!

me: Nachos anyone?