It started so innocently.
A few months ago, I went to a concert with my friends, Rocio and Caesar. At the show, we met up with their friend, Homer. Homer is originally from Peru, and I hadn’t seen him since we got back from our trip there last spring. The two of us spent the evening going on and on about our love of Peruvian cuisine when it occurred to me that I should have him teach me his recipes. And while we’re at it, we should use it as an opportunity to get together at Rocio and Caesar’s new place, which Homer hadn’t yet visited. (Also, their kitchen is awesome.)
So I planned this simple little gathering at my friend’s house.
As we started to talk more about it, we all started to invite other friends. Everyone we know are travelers and food-lovers so we didn’t want to leave anyone out. When we got to 15, we realized we had to leave people out!
For a few weeks prior, we went back and forth over the recipes and import shopping list for our Peruvian dinner party, via Facebook, email, and a shared Google doc. We settled on 4 dishes (red snapper cebiche, causa limeña, papas a la huancaína, and rotisserie chicken–from Costco, even), 1 snack (canchitas), and 2 drinks (pisco sours and chicha morada). Sounds easy, right?
We all met that day at about 1pm to start getting things ready for 5:30 dinner. When we started, we were all pretty relaxed. Rocio’s kitchen was spotless with abundant shiny, clean kitchen counter space and her loft-style apartment was open, airy, and gorgeous.
Soon enough, things got crazy. The counters filled up with food and we realized the recipes we had chosen were more laborious than we expected, even with five people working.
Within an hour every single pot and bowl we had was in use.
I was getting carpal tunnel syndrome from finely, shredding the chicken…
And from hand-peeling these boiled potatoes. This was half of them.
Then we realized we had bought the wrong limes. According to Homer’s recipe for pisco sours, it’s very important that you use full-size limes, not the small, Mexican Key limes that we had stocked up on. So there was a diversion to buy a whopping, 120 limes!
When they got back and we realized how little juice we were getting out of them (by hand-squeezing them half way to ensure there is no bitterness), Homer made a call to another friend to ask him to bring limes.
We were busy little bees for several hours straight.
When guests started to arrive, things got even more hectic. For a minute I thought Rocio might snap…
And then she kind of did–but she’s cute when crazy, isn’t she?
My dog, Posey, started barking at the incoming guests invading her turf, so she got sent out to the car for the remainder of the night. Bailey, on the other hand, was a little angel.
Caesar was frantically mixing pisco sours to keep the guests entertained.
But they still wound up on the couch watching sports.
FINALLY, we put together one causa limena and it looked really good!
One down, 14 more to go.
We had too many cooks in the kitchen.
And every surface of Rocio’s spotless kitchen was now covered in lime juice and mashed potatos.
But despite all this, people were happy and having fun.
And in the end, it turned out kind of awesome.
Under Homer’s culinary guidance the food was amazing, and it was a great group of people. I think I’m safe saying that everyone had a wonderful time.
But nevertheless, I think that was the last dinner party I get to plan at Rocio’s house!
Have your own story of dinner party chaos? Or tips for making things easier? Please share them in the comments.
Ah, how fun! Despite the hard work, the food must have been delicious!
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Yes, it was! We’ll do it at my place next time you come over!
Wow… all the food looks so pretty! Oh, Rocio’s house/apt is so stylish too…
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It was, and it is. You would love her place, Vee–it’s in an old fruit packing facility (I think?) recently converted into condos. Great location in Oakland.
I totally know where that is! Wow, things are changing in Oakland quickly..
Great post! I like how you told a story with the fotos
Thanks, Jenny! I like how you wore your Peruvian sweater
Great story, Cassie. It was an entertaining read. You’re a good writer. I’ll be looking forward to more.
Thanks, Jerry. I really appreciate it! I hope to see you guys soon
What a gorgeous apartment. When I was 19 I hosted a dinner party at my parents home while they were away on holidays. I made chicken with cherry sauce. Half a chicken each and there were 10 of us. I totally didn’t realize how long it would take to cook all of the chickens. Everyone got drunk and we ate really late, but we all had a great time. The kitchen was a horrible mess and didn’t get cleaned until the next day.
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Thanks for the memory, Jan! 5 chickens! That’s quite the undertaking, especially for a teenager! Guess no matter the setbacks, with good friends it will always work out
“And in the end, it turned out kind of awesome.” You mean… it turned out epic!
By the way, wasn’t that house in HGTV? lol
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It did, didn’t it? And I’m beginning to rethink not imposing on Rocio again. “Ye who has the best kitchen, hosts…” that’s what they say, right?
The cebiche was simply amazing. It was like being in Lima. It all came out 10 times better than I imagined, and even though I spent the whole time shopping, squeezing limes, and mashing potatoes (no wonder there was such a mess!), I enjoyed every second. Oh and Homer can make a mean pisco sour, too!
Now that is a party! I find as long as there is enough wine people are happy.
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Pisco works, too