Day 62: A Story Unfolding

Getting Started
I've been thinking a lot about how I wanted to write today's post.  I want to write with confidence about how my day went smoothly cooking for 60 people.  I want to say that it was a "breeze" and I can't wait to do it again!  (Especially since I know that people who ate my food will be reading this.)  But "keeping it real" has been a source of pride for me and this blog.  (Don't worry, I didn't poison the food or make any epic mistakes!)  So even though writing honestly will expose my fears, frustrations, and the feelings of self-doubt I went through today, here it goes...

I've now cooked for large parties twice.  Each party had it's own unique set of challenges.  Randy's party was challenging for me because it was my first time, and I was in charge of much more than just food.  It was a lot of work, and though I did enlist a LITTLE help, I probably should've got some more.  I just didn't know what to expect.  Today's party was different because I was only in charge of dinner.  Just the main course.  It sounded like it would be easy compared to Randy's party.  But the challenge was that there wasn't a stove or oven at the location, so I wouldn't be able to do any cooking on site, or warm anything in an oven there.  I had to pick the dishes carefully, we needed food that could be prepared almost completely in my own kitchen, then survive the half hour drive in my car without spoiling and would taste just as good once warmed or re-heated by the steam tables/hotel pans on site.

The Day Unfolded
I woke up in the morning with a tired excitement.  I was tired from the night before, but very excited to continue my project in the kitchen.  Around 8:00 I brought my coffee into the kitchen and thought, I have 8 hours to do this.  (I wanted to be "finished" around 4 or so and leave between 4:30-4:45, giving me plenty of time to "wrap up" and get ready before heading out.  Best laid plans...)
I started by finely chopping the herbs I would use in the roasted potatoes.  Then I chopped all 20 lbs of potatoes and put them in 2 pots with cold water so they wouldn't turn brown.  I then started getting stuff ready to make 4 batches of dinner rolls.  I didn't have the capacity to quadruple the recipe and make them all at once, so I did one batch at a time and tried to get the timing right.  I also started to boil the potatoes so they could cook most of the way before going in the oven.  I remember looking at the clock at about 10:00 and being surprised that 2 hours had gone by already.  Then I started questioning if I hadn't taken on an impossible task...

Around 12:00 I was well into making the rolls.  They had to rise twice, once in the bowl, and once in the muffin tin.  I had a system going, and I felt good about it.  I took a break for lunch (I ate under 9 minutes--I remember because the oven timer said 9 minutes when I started and I finished before it went off.  haha!)  Randy asked me how things were going (he had pretty much been taking care of the kids and even took Noah out of the house for a bit up until this point) and what I thought the afternoon would be like. I didn't have an answer.  I had no clue what to expect because everything was already taking a little longer than I thought it would.  I knew I really only had to do the chicken once the rolls were done, but I had 30 breasts to trim, cut in half, bread, and cook and I had no idea how long it would take.  I also had to brown the cheese on the shells and put the potatoes and herbs in the oven for a few minutes before packing it all in.  I was starting to feel overwhelmed but still optimistic.  Randy took the carseats out of my car and started packing what he could.

Things went very well for a while!  We all cheered when I was finishing the last of the rolls.  :)  Trimming the chicken went very quickly (while the final rolls were rising).  I was feeling good.  Then, it happened.  The one casualty of the day: I burned myself.  My griddle was on at 400* for the chicken and I wanted to move it over on the counter.  I went to grab the plastic edge but placed my fingers too far underneath and strongly grabbed a hold of the hot metal underside of the iron.  Did you ever see the show, "Chopped"?  It's the one where the cooks have only a certain amount of time to make their dishes and present them to the judges and there is almost always an injury and the cook has to just keep moving through it.  That's how I felt.  I started working with only my left hand, not realizing how bad the burn was until I started jumping up and down waiting for Randy to bring me ice.  (Noah thought that was hilarious!)  I worked a good portion of the time with my left hand and my right hand just holding an ice pack for a while.  I wound up with a couple small blisters, but that was it.  All better now!

Then at 3:30, I cried.  That's when I knew I wouldn't be done by 4:00, and didn't think I would be done with it by 4:30, even.  Using my high-pitched, panicky, "labor-voice" as Randy and I named it, I declared to him that I couldn't do this and it wasn't going to be ready in time.  My dear, sweet, wonderful, and fast-acting husband sprang into action.  He took over on oven duty and started getting those shells browned and in the car.  He was a machine, getting me all packed up and doing everything but the chicken, which is what I was working on.  He later told me that he didn't even recognize me when he came into the kitchen and saw me panicking.  It was definitely my lowest moment of the day, but I needed to go through it, just to release the exhaustion I had been feeling up to that point, I guess.  I never thought about the physical toll I would feel on my body, cooking all day like that.  It was literally a cooking marathon.

At 4:20, we prayed.  "Lord, please let everything be cooked through and come together--I have to leave in 10-20 minutes and I'm still cooking chicken!"  I was using the now vacant oven to finish a lot of the chicken and make sure it was cooked.  My car was all packed, and I was getting ready while the chicken was cooking.  When the last batch was done, Randy covered it and carried it out to my car with oven mitts.  I remember the last thing that Randy said to me as I was getting in my car was, "You look great!"  I love my husband.  Have I mentioned that?

The Final Project
Everything DID come together.  And the day was amazing.  I'm so glad that I went through all of the emotions that I did--I learned so much!  And I am proud of the food I put out.  The shells were a no-brainer for me because they're so popular already and an easy "make-ahead" meal.  The potatoes turned out nice and flavorful, and the chicken dish was definitely a good pick.  It was really the perfect chicken dish for the scenario because I was able to bring the cooked chicken to the location dry.  I made the sauce at my house, and brought that separately, too.  I also had the lemon and parsley garnishes in separate containers.  So the chicken wasn't soggy, since it wasn't sitting in sauce the whole drive.  And since I wanted to make sure it was cooked all the way, any pieces that might have been too dry, were able to liven up again once I did add the sauce on site.  (It's a common misconception that chicken piccata has to have capers.  "Piccata" only refers to the zesty lemon/wine sauce with parsley.  It's actually an original Italian dish made with veal and doesn't have capers at all.  Some people add capers or garlic if they choose, but I prefer to keep it simpler and more true to its original form.)

More than the compliments, the best part was watching people go up for seconds.  That says the most to me.  I've said it before, but to me, there's just something so magical and wonderful about turning a whole bunch of separate ingredients into a beautiful dish and then watching a room full of people enjoy it.  I'm so grateful for this experience!

What's Next?
I plan to take what I've learned and apply it to my business.  Yes, that's right.  Randy and I have
always dreamed and talked about owning our own food industry business, but the vision was never clear enough.  We love breakfast foods and baked goods.  How about a bakery?  What about a Bed & Breakfast?  But we also love dinners, and Randy is an EXCELLENT host and people person.  What about a Bistro or nice restaurant?  Randy would manage the front end while I took over the kitchen.  Those were all ideas, but never something I felt I could grab a hold of.  And though I'm not ready to disclose our true end-goal vision to the public just yet, I can say that until it comes, BETHANY DATTOLO-"freelance" CATERER is now open for business!  Spread the word!  Yes, the day was tough, but it was worth it.  This is my passion.  More people should be as lucky to be able to pursue theirs.  I have a supportive husband and family, and friends who are willing to take a risk with me.  I know where I want to go from here, and what I will do differently and what I will do just the same.  I'm ready to start this journey.

What will be even better, is if I get to come home to this after every catering job: