Hello, I hope you are doing well.
Have you kept up with the weekly chores? If not, you still have nine days to go. You’ve got plenty of time to give the public areas of your home some attention. Your guests will respect a closed door, right? What about a locked one? Sometimes our boundaries need to be firm. If you need to play catch up on what we have covered so far, don’t worry, we’ve got you.
Today’s task is one of my favorites. For me, it makes everything seem like everything is finally coming together..
Today you’ll need your menu or spreadsheet. For each item, find an appropriate serving dish AND an appropriate utensil to serve it with. As you choose your utensils, try to keep in mind the consistency of the dish that will be scooped. For example, think about vegetables like collard greens. You will want a slotted spoon for these so they can drain before they land on your guest’s plate. No one wants dry greens, but most of us don’t want our mashed potatoes swimming in pot liquor (potlikker). That’s the liquid left when greens have cooked down. Pot liquor is good, but I don’t want my whole plate to taste like collards.
A regular spoon will work just fine for your mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes.
Do you have a gravy boat?
For the record, it’s ok if you don’t, You do not have to have a formal table. I can’t tell you how many years I have used either the pot itself with a ladle or a glass measuring cup. It is perfectly ok to operate function over form when you need to.
On your spreadsheet, write a description of each dish and utensil below the recipe so the night you will be able to locate each item quickly. (The night before I also like to place a post-it with the name of the recipe it belongs to.) This will make it easier for anyone helping you identify the correct dish if your hands are full when they have a question.
Previously
- Learned about homemade stock
- Made a plan to make doing the dishes easier
- Ensured we have enough place settings
- Created a plan to grocery shop
- Created our soft menu plan
- Written a tentative guest list
- Figured out how our guests’ needs affect our plans
- Cleared the table
- Set the intention to keep it clear.
- Made a point to try to stick to the weekly chore schedule
