neurosis

i love throwing dinner parties- whether it's just for one friend, or ten, or twenty, i truly enjoy it. however, i also have the tendency to drive myself crazy with the preparation and stress myself out.

today for instance, i was having the boy, Q2, and char over for dinner. initially it was just going to be the boy and i, so the original menu was quite simple- moules steamed in a white wine sauce and frites with a mixed green salad. ever since i invited Q2 and char, i was obsessed with revamping the menu. i spent some of my free time in NN reading through a variety of mussel recipes and settled on a saffron cream recipe. this morning i caught an 8 o'clock flight from NN to NYC and during the entire trip (albeit a short 50 minute jaunt) i debated about what sides to accompany the mussels. . .

got home by 9:40 and ate breakfast, scanned through a couple of my recipe books, and took a nap. when i woke up, i looked through the books again. too many decisions:

1. saffron mussel and leek soup OR mussels in a saffron cream sauce
2. wild mushroom risotto OR seafood risotto (where i would omit the mussels and just use calamari and scallops) OR shrimp risotto OR fries
3. mixed green salad with balsamic vinagrette OR tomato and zucchini casserole

i called my sister, reesy, Q2, VK, and theng for a second opinion all to no avail- no one picked up, maybe the sensed the ridiculousness of the call. by a fluke, i was able to get in touch with reesy.

V: blah blah blah (going through 1-3)

reesy: are you sure everyone likes mussels?

V: yep, everyone does and likes seafood.

reesy: have you made any of these dishes before?

V: yea, i've made a different version of the risotto and the mussels before. i think they are fairly simple recipes, just hope they are good.

reesy: well do the risotto. that's always good and is impressive.

V: you don't think i should do the saffron soup? it's a little more complicated but sounds really good.

reesy: are you nuts? you just got back from traveling. just do whatever is easier!

V: you're right you're right. . i just have a tendency to choose the more complicated things. ok, i'll stick with the mussels and shrimp risotto. thanks!

somehow i managed to get off schedule, probably because i had to go to three different grocery stores to get all the ingredients. firstly, the guy in front of me at agatha and valentina bought one too many pounds of mussels so i had to go to citarella to get another pound. secondly, i realized i forgot to buy grated parmesan. then, i got the bright idea to decorate the apartment with flowers (always cheers me up when i'm down and nice when there's company). so rather than starting food prep at 4 i didn't start until 4:45PM.

i called Q2 to tell her to come half and hour, 45 minutes later. . . the boy arrived around 6 and helped me with odds and ends and managed to pull most of it together by the time Q2 and char arrived. i forgot to take pics (see how flustered i musta been?) but it turned out beautifully and quite tasty. . trusty old epicurious!!!

and y'know what? i want to do it all again!