Cooking for Strangers

In April I was asked if I wanted to cater a dinner for 12 older ladies.  Older as in older than me.  A lot older.  25 years older, minimum.  I said yes, since in April money was even scarcer than it is now and I wasn't working all these days and hours.  Tomorrow is the day of the dinner and I am so not wanting to do it.  But since I have already invested more than $200 in food, I guess I will.

Sigh.  Nothing I did today turned out the right way.  I blanched the green beans but they already seem too cooked.  The crostini turned out very crisp which might be a problem for the old ladies and their frail teeth, if they even have their own teeth.  Frail dentures might be more apt.  I suggested rib eye steaks (they only wanted beef, nothing else) but they wanted fillet mignon, the cut of choice for people over 80.  Why?  It has little taste compared to a rib eye. The only thing going for it is that it isn't tough, which might be good for the denture group, I suppose.  I am happy to make them my creamed corn, which I could eat every single day of  my life and be so, so happy.  Corn, a little garlic and cream.  What's not to like?  But what if they don't like it?  

I am anticipating everything going wrong. This isn't like me, I am usually a confident cook.  But having spent almost $100 on the meat, I am terrified I will fuck it up.  I am pretty sure the sour cream peach pies will be good but even those could go south.  ACK!!!  Why did I agree to do this?  It's my one day off, sort of, and the entire day will be spent cooking and worrying and cleaning up.  The money isn't that great, actually, since I feel guilty for charging for all the hours I am spending on it, especially after forking over the outrageous amount of money on the meat.  

I guess I will need to wow them with my charm.  Too bad I don't have a lot of that, and what I do have is tarnished and bruised due to how often I have to be "nice" to the public because of being in the inhospitable hospitality industry.   My levels of charm and graciousness are at an all-time low right now and won't be replenished anytime soon, that's for sure.

OK, enough of it all.  I am right now at the boutique hotel in Glen Ellen where I work, smiling at guests, drinking cheap (free) white wine mixed with watermelon lemonade (house-made!) and wishing I had one of those fillets to cook up right now.  And a piece of pie.

I will report on the success or disaster on Monday.  Could go either way.  Or both ways.  Or sideways.