08 September 2010

Revival of the Dinner Party



Photos courtesy of the lovely Amelia (http://vintagevivant.com/2010/06/01/nyc-pt-1/)
Amelia is one of my many friends who shares my love of food, enough so that we organized our entire May NYC trip around finding the best grubbin' the city had to offer.

Okay, so I know this is departing from what this blog is usually about (what is it usually about?), but if you know me at all, you know that I love food and drink. It is the one thing I refuse to skimp on money-wise and time-wise. I mean sometimes you do what you have to do, but I avoid cutting corners in this department as much as humanly possible. There is absolutely nothing that beats a well cooked meal, a nice glass of wine, and a book or some good company. Better yet, if it were raining or cold outdoors. SO, here we are, it is a Wednesday night and even though I worked all day in the library and completely exhausted myself, all I want to do is cook something delicious. I've realized, when it comes to my free time, all I ever want to do is create edible art projects.

Therefore, I have decided, that once a month (hopefully, from now until forever) I will be hosting fancy-ass dinner gatherings or brunches. I will be keeping them rather small and sending out personal invites, and all that I ask in return for the free food is that you bring your warm bodies and smiles and come ready to eat well, eat slowly, and talk a lot (a bottle of wine or a bag of coffee beans wouldn't hurt either, but is definitely not a requirement). There is something to be said about taking your time to eat and enjoy the company of other fine people...deep breath out...and not many people do it any more. IT IS REVIVAL TIME.

The first of these events is in the making. Also, I love you all, and eventually I will invite ALL OF YOU, but I am going to keep them tiny because: a) I can't afford to cook (well) for more than 10 people anymore, b) my home can only fit a small number of people comfortably seated around a table, c) I would like for there to be a type of atmosphere where everyone may be engaged in a singular conversation.

Beyond my deciding that there is not enough good food happening, I have been deciding on other things as well. I have bought a plane ticket to New Orleans for September 30th - October 3rd to visit my good friends John H. and Lauren B., both of whom are among the most wholesome and pleasant people to be around. Additionally, I finally have officially begun my honors thesis research under the lovely Professor Martha G. Newman. I will be exploring the lives of queer people within Islam; if you have friends, relatives, or acquaintances you would like to recommend I speak to, I would love this.

Writing this has thankfully caused me to decide against staying up for three more hours to make homemade cinnamon roll dough, but not to worry, I have plenty of other things I must finish. READINGS! BOOKS! ARTICLES! oh my!

tisbah ala khair ya habaabi,

C

3 comments:

said...

"edible art projects"
you're amazing. i love it.

cheshire said...

come by the land in gonzales if you have time when you're in LA. we will be about an hour-hour and a half up i-10 towards baton rouge. if not, call me and i will come to NOLA with my bike, or two if you don't have yours.

cheshire said...

and we can bike to the abandoned still-lit up steamboat on the mississippi and explore and pilfer. and climb inside the general lee statue.