This past Saturday, I had 15 people over for dinner. You can only imagine what it looked like in my little one bedroom apartment. I have to admit - this WAS my idea. But it wasn't my idea for so many people to show up.
The past week, leading up to this eventful Saturday, I decided that it would be nice to have a bunch of people over for dinner. So, I asked some of my friends to come over, had them confirm with me, and I started to sit down and plan how much food to buy and prepare.
By early Saturday morning, when I cranked up to go to Sam's Club, I had all my confirmations in, plus a couple extra that my invitees asked if they could bring with them.
Here's the damage report:
6 racks of pork ribs: $52
1 gallon BBQ sauce: $7
1 big can of corn: $3
shredded cheddar and parmesan: $5
1 lb of pasta shells: $1
2 lbs coleslaw (just in case): $6
sodas: $3
plates and cups and misc.: $7
stuff already on-hand: $6
Total: ~$90
Now, a couple of these things are multiple use - like, I didn't use an entire gallon of BBQ sauce, just about 1/4 of it. And, still a good amount of disposableware to last another get-together. Also, there was still a pound of coleslaw leftover and a little bit of corn. All in all, ribs for 15 people for about $90 breaks down to about $6/person. Not too bad, I guess. I'm still trying to justify spending a month's worth of food money.
But what really bugs me is this:
Dinner was scheduled for 5:00PM. From 3:30PM to 5:30PM, my phone was going off left and right of people who I didn't invite who had heard about this soiree and asked if they could come, then mope about why they couldn't come when I said no. If you're going to call me an hour before feeding 15 people and want me to magically make food appear out of nowhere, you've got some nerve. People, contrary to popular belief, I'm not a soup kitchen. I'm not a cafeteria. I'm not here to feed YOU. I wish I could invite everyone who has ever walked the face of this planet. But the fact is, I bought food for 15, I cooked for 15, and I only have room in my apartment for 10. You do the math.
Okay, enough venting. Hope everyone else had a good weekend. =)
Feeding 15 - Went a Little Overboard?
December 17th, 2007 at 04:19 pm
December 17th, 2007 at 08:23 pm 1197922983
December 17th, 2007 at 09:35 pm 1197927353
BTW, I would NEVER go to dinner at someone's house and not bring something much less invite myself over!
December 18th, 2007 at 06:07 am 1197958024
Extra people sometimes happen with casual soirees. You have to decide how many you can accept. Another trick is to ask who they got the info from to flush out the invitees who need a posse. Its usually one or two people, which if you know about you can deal with next time. Also, hang up on the mopers after politely saying, "I'm sorry, I'm busy here, maybe next time." Don't wait to be convinced.
December 18th, 2007 at 07:59 pm 1198007967
Ahem.
December 18th, 2007 at 11:45 pm 1198021546
December 19th, 2007 at 02:30 pm 1198074625