Blisters and Joy

The blisters on my feet cannot overshadow the joy I feel for my sisters in law. I didn't get to see the ceremony, but there was at least one person taking video, so I'll enjoy it later.
I spent most of the week preparing for the joyous occasion. Hard boiling 15 dozen eggs takes a long time, and peeling them takes quite a while. Except Friday night, a handful of people, including Jerry and Donna's mother and stepfather came in to lend a hand. James, Jerry's son, had also come in from University of Chicago to help and be part of the celebration. I'm sorry Donna's Dad and stepmother, and Linda's parents declined to attend. Linda's mom did, at least, send a gift.

Early in the week I started shopping and prep. I made a ridiculously easy and extremely popular cracker. I halved wonton skins, brushed them with oil, then sprinkled sesame seeds and coarse salt on them. Baked at 375 for 10-15 minutes. They were delicious!
There were a couple of labor-intensive dishes that could not be done ahead of time. One was puff pastry, cut for mini muffin tins. I sauteed mushroom-- white and shiitaki, with garlic, butter and a little red wine. I put a tad of really good paremsan on the bottom , and then put in the mushrooms. We baked several hundred.
At request of the spouses, we made deviled eggs and pesto potatoes. While on its surface both are simple, they took a long time. We halved red potatoes, baked them and then scooped out a bit and put in a dollop of pesto.
I need more full sheet pans, and the kitchen we worked in had absolutely nothing. If I had had more sheet pans, the potatoes would have gone much faster. Live and learn.
My friend Leslie, of Theresa and Johnny's Comfort Food Cafe in San Rafael, lent us baskets and hotel pans, which helped immensely. I should have taken some sheet pans from her as well.

I also made four dips. I think my favorite was the red pepper with walnuts. I played with this one-- I added Japanese breadcrumbs and Vietnamese hot sauce. And, of course, garlic, and some olive oil.
The white bean and artichoke dip was a hit, as was the feta and sun dried tomatoes. The beet and garbanzo didn't go over as well, though I thought it was great. Maybe people just don't like to eat pink food.
We had a lovely selection of cheeses from Cowgirl Creamery, olives, nuts, and store-bought spring rolls. Always the Jewish mother (of no children except doted-on cats) we had way too much food.
Too much food was, in part, because of the set-up of the room. The food was difficult to get to. I wanted the tables along the side, but they got put in the back, next to the bar. I had some people appear sheepishly in the kitchen asking if we had food in there. I was happy to oblige.
But the married couple was absolutely thrilled, and that is what matters. I guess my biggest disappointments are, I love to have people eat what I cook, and also, Jerry and I paid for all of this, and we are woefully underemployed. We did ship some of the leftovers off to a soup kitchen, and for that I am grateful, and I'm going to a pot luck today, and I will take some with me to that.