Nov 14 a memorable evening!

I had a feeling the november event would be a quiet affair… how wrong I was! It turned out to be the most popular cosmosoirée ever, a record 55 people confirmed on facebook alone (not all of them serious of course) and by thursday night I was already turning people down (sorry). The final guestlist of 67 was eventually cut down to 62 with the (still unacceptable) handful of no shows. There was a noticeable majority of women, with 36 as opposed to a mere 26 men. A good mix of 19 countries of origin were present, the more unusual ones including Bulgaria, Poland, Japan, Mexico and Peru. Just over half the guests were first timers and 29 were cosmo regulars.

I had felt it was finally time to branch out from my usual menu and I rather optimistically prepared a main course of chile con carne with condiments, instead of my diehard chicken curry (which I could make with my eyes closed) This rather complex procedure through me totally off schedule, not helped by my determination to finally add my famous tortilla española (two in fact) to the cosmo-buffet… and I entered panic mode by 6pm! Anyway it all turned out ok, and with the early arrival of Irma and Jamie to help me out with final touches all was ready on time and slowly but surely the party began.

Other highlights on the buffet table included salad and quiche from Brigitte and Marc, Sonja’s delicious lentil salad, Ana’s pakoras, and an amazing roast vegetable platter from Philippe, who was also my right-hand-man in the kitchen all evening. For dessert I prepared a fruit salad as well as my usual chocolate gateau, and we had a special treat with Jamie's world renowned choc-chip cookies.

When I finally escaped from kitchen duties around midnight I joined the happy crowd and saw for myself it was yet another incredibly successful and enjoyable evening for everyone. However I had had to put a damper on proceedings and steer people to the door by 2:30 am… unfortunately I had a work meeting for my elusive day job at 10:30 am Sunday, OUCH!