Other people in your kitchen

[stellabella]

our kitchen is 12' by 24'--it was 2 rooms before we renovated. we wanted a kitchen where we could cook and entertain at the same time. the "kitchen" proper is separated from the eating area by a tile-topped counter, where i usually place appetizers, wine bottles & glasses, etc., for guests. it doesn't matter what we do or say--our guests are always going to be in the kitchen--we keep a couple Amish rockers in the dining area, as well. there have been evenings during which no one even left the kitchen [except to pee].

sometimes i cook the whole meal. occasionally i settle for pot luck. i have NEVER been disappointed. we have two sets of friends --our Atlanta friends, and our local Rutledge friends--among both groups are some extraordinary cooks. one woman always gets to make the borthday cakes, for example--because NO ONE can beat hers. my neighbor ed is the grill man--i defer to him in meat every time.

yeah, there are always one or two people who show up with salad in a bag or a mrs. smith's pie, but, you know, after being pissed about it for so long, i've decided to be philosophical. if everything esle is really good, let's overlook the crappy pie. and considering that i have so many friends who cook really, really well, i think my glass is more than half full. the weird thhing is that NONE of these cooks posts at egullet.

a good friend was visiting last feburary from PA--she insisted on making my b-day cake--bad luck to make one's own, she said--i wanted red velvet. i watched in amazement as, accompanied by many glasses of fine wines, she poured and whisked and dumped ingredients into my kitchenaid. the next day red batter was stuck to every surface in my kitchen, and i'd spilled molten chocolate all over my living room. one of the best nights of my life.

[Busboy]

Suzanne, thanks. Got all worked up by a too-academic string on technique v. ingredients, so I thought I'd vent over here, on a topic very close to my life, if not my heart.

I like your approach StellaB: cooking defined by good friends, wild nights and mystery the next morning as you ease your hungover self into the kitchen to see how much damage remains...

[maggiethecat]

Welcome, Busboy!  Quite an auspicious debut. 

Welcome indeed. Keep us posted.

[vengroff]

I'm with busboy. Put 'em to work. We even have a special collection of guest aprons in a variety of fashion colors to coordinate with any wardrobe.

[Jinmyo]

And keep repeating to yourself "the guests are more important than the food."

No.

Welcome, Busboy.

[Nick]

Maybe we could get a little side-tracked and deal with the question of, ""the guests are more important than the food."?

[Busboy]

We could, if Jinmyo, or you, want to get sassy.

I can hear it now "stop dancing, stop dancing, my souffle..."

[JAZ]

I would have echoed everything said here a month ago, but then I had an unusual experience for me -- helping a friend who's a professional chef and caterer prepare our staff Christmas party. Not that I haven't helped out in (some would say "taken over") many kitchens, and not that I haven't done a lot of parties of my own, but it's different to put oneself in the position of helper only. It was a very different experience to show up and ask "What can I do?" and be given very defined assignments. And it was really hard to ask advice on how best to do tasks I'd not done before (seeding a pomegranate, in this instance). It was, in other words, strange to be the apprentice.

But -- she was thrilled to have the help, I love to cook and know I need to learn things, and we had champagne, so everything worked out great.

And now, when people ask me if they can help in the kitchen, I hope I will be a little more understanding. But probably not.

[Dana]

My kitchen prep/cook area is very small and the dining area is very large with a nice big "cut-out" so see through. When someone asks "what can I do", I say 'put a chair over there and talk to me.' In the unlikely event I really need them to do something, I don't hesitate to ask for help (stirring risotto for 14 or making my sister peel 2 pints of cherry tomatoes )(big sister bossiness overcame me), but I have to oversee it all and make any corrections I feel necessary. Anyone invited to our home for a meal knows I'm pretty picky about the food.

I think a lot of it is ego, too. I want all the glory for myself when the food is terrific.

[fresco]

In the past few weeks, my son has managed to break the bread knife (he thought it was perfect for peeling and cutting a pineapple, ignoring far more suitable knives in the rack alongside it) and pretty well destroyed the blender. He also persists in using omelette pans to fry bacon or whatever else strikes his fancy.

Also, I've noticed a couple of times recently unloading the dishwasher than someone has put a couple of my good knives through the cycle. No one will own up to it.

As you can tell, I'm getting less and less tolerant of other people in MY kitchen.