Drinking and orzo

just don't mix. We had company for dinner Saturday night-- two couples and Jerry's son who was in town to be wined and dined by the UC Berkeley Chem grad department.
I made a lovely spanakopita, a loaf of bread and an orange poppy seed cake ahead of time, but the orzo with pine nuts and the sauteed chicken with artichoke hearts had to wait. And wait they did as we polished off a couple bottles of zinfandel and pinot noir.
Not waiting for the water to boil, I started the chicken. My first mistake. As everyone knows, a watched pot never boils, so the chicken was done well before the orzo. And I kept drinking while I waited. So the orzo did not get all the lemon it was supposed to get, the chicken was underseasoned and overdone.
But the company was lovely, as was the spanakopita, the bread and the dessert.
And the wine.