Today was Cafe Davis warp speed style. I'm frankly amazed that we pulled it off. Mike conducted interviews again all day and I worked until 5:00. We met up in the parking lot behind his office around 5:15, and took off for a JMU reception - one of those events that we really couldn't miss. We made our appearance, mingled and snacked, and took off around 6:15. Then once we got home, we literally ran for an hour. We were thankful again for Jeff, our photographer/gopher (photogopher - a new term perhaps?!?), who really helps to make the magic happen. Thanks again for the ice, aluminum foil and toilet paper, buddy. That's a weird collection of stuff, but all necessary!
Even though we were in a huge hurry, I only "yelled" at Mike once (his word, not mine). All I said was, "We're running low on time!" as I flew through the kitchen. To be fair, he was standing in the kitchen and dancing, so I thought he needed a gentle reminder. But seriously y'all - wow. He got everything cooked and we sat down to eat at 8:02. Miracles do happen. The menu was comfort food Italian. We had mushroom cheese puffs (which were astoundingly delicious, and should be a staple in any party food rotation), Caesar salad, stuffed shells, linguine with clams, and provolone bread. Plus dessert - so much dessert! It was all delicious, and I'm pretty sure no one left hungry except maybe the poor vegetarian who I forgot to mark in my spreadsheet and was relegated to salad, bread, and leftover grits as her meal. Again, my humble apologies to you! Tonight was also challenging because we were way overbooked - thanks a lot, stupid spam folder. Everyone got cozy and hopefully had a good time. There were some repeat cafe attendees, including two Melindas - one is mental health professional and an awesome Episco-PAL we know from church, and the other a financial industry client service associate who enthusiastically likes to bake. We also had Caroline (speech pathologist) and Ryan (landscaper) for their 3rd visit, but the first one with their very soon-to-be born bundle of joy. The rest of the repeat offenders included John, a JMU political science professor married to one of the Melindas; Erin, a former Kindergarten teacher and current SAHM who came last year on crazy ladies' night; and Josh, another great Episco-PAL who has been so amazingly helpful to my mom as of late. We appreciate him so much. The newbies included Tad, who raises cattle but lives in a townhouse - we're still not sure how that works, but we think it's maybe something like this - as well as Sam and Cindy. Sam and Mike met when they were trying to get the Friendly City Food Co-Op up and running. Cindy loves to entertain, and amused us with her stories of Peace Corp life in Mauritania. Finally, there was a small cadre of debaters: Sarah, who hails from Washington state; Samantha, Emme's BFF; and Shawn, who gets animated when talking about cassette tapes. Last but not least, I want to say "thanks" to those of you who have made contributions to the Food Pantry ministry of Emmanuel Episcopal Church. At the end of night 2, we were already at $75, and that will go a long way. Thanks for your generosity! Sometimes hosting Cafe Davis is hard. Today was one of those days. Mike is in the midst of doing phone interviews for three new faculty hires, which means he isn't home much for prep. Then I woke up on Monday morning and found I couldn't walk. Since I work upstairs from a podiatrist's office, I decided to have it checked out and got a lovely accessory (see air cast below). Since I am hobbling about, I was pretty useless in dinner prep. Everything takes me about ten times longer than it should to finish. Lest you forget, the foot bone's connected to the ankle bone which is connected to the calf bone and so forth. If one part is out of whack, everything is out of whack. With me out of commission, Mike had to work double/triple, overtime. I am so grateful that he is able and willing to do that. And he made it seem effortless. Plus it was delicious. Let's not forget our priorities. The point of this blog is to keep a record, for posterity's sake, of the fun that ensues at Cafe Davis each year. Now that Cafe Davis has a photographer, we will have a photo gallery added to this site so that we can guests can easily reminisce, and everyone else can see the fun they missed. (I kid - kinda sorta...) I also feature recipes on this site as well, in case anyone wants to recreate something at home. I try to pick recipes that are pretty easy, so don't be afraid to be adventurous. I learned my lesson long ago that complicated and Cafe Davis don't mix. On to Day 1. In attendance we had me and Mike, of course, and Emme was running about making jack-o-lantern masks (it's Halloween all year long up in here) and trying to pry almonds out of their shells with her bare hands (to *very* limited success). After we feasted on pickled veggies, cheese straws, yeast rolls, salad with Green Goddess dressing, garlic shrimp and grits, and green beans amandine, everyone went around the table to introduce themselves. That simple act took a long time, and was a LOT of fun. Present we had Ashley (former flight attendant, former boutique owner, and current Chamber of Commerce employee), Steven (retired JMU professor who enjoys music), John (JMU athletics communication guru), Martha (Gardasil expert at Merck), Lyndsey (online AP Economics teacher and former roller derby captain), Brad (manager of a fair trade store who enjoys long walks), Jeff (Cafe Davis photographer and owner of a doggy daycare), Nate (former-Liberty University debater), Stefanie (JMU librarian and mom of two kiddos who were bummed to not taste-test the lemon bars), Meg (relative newcomer to the 'Burg and wildlife biologist with the US Forest Service), Bill (JMU administrator in Outreach and Engagement who travels a lot), Nancy (owner of The Cottage in Dayton), and Josh (JMU professor who works with monkeys in Cameroon). Note to couples attending this year - we are splitting you up. Not forever, mind you, but for dinner. Seats are assigned. and I think it worked out really well to get everyone chatting up each other. Even though we didn't get all of the kinks ironed out for night #1, the guests were interesting, engaging, and fun to be around. I know the next 11 days will be more of the same, and that's amazing. Cafe Davis 2014 is just around the corner, and we're getting stoked. It's going to be a fun and different year! We usually know pretty much everyone coming to dinner in a given night. We can anticipate what people will talk about, how they are likely to get along, and sometimes even the dessert they are likely to bring. This year? Not so much. There's a higher-than-average number of people that we flat out don't know at all, and a decent sprinkling of folks that we've only met once or twice. And then there's the added interesting twist that on a lot of nights there are people coming that I know and Mike doesn't know and vicey versy. But you gotta love people who will go eat at another person's house on a whim, and we look forward to making some great new friends!
With this in mind, the RSVP list definitely shows us that we'll have A LOT of Cafe Davis newbies. If you fall in that category, here's a Top 10 Things You Need to Know about Cafe Davis list to help you get acclimated. 10. This isn't a fancy dinner party oozing with elegance. Yes, we do use real plates, but they aren't china and are not necessarily going to match. I may remember to light the candles. I might not. The napkins are paper because it's hard enough to keep up with regular ol' laundry. You get the idea. 9. Our house is crowded, especially when there's 45 square feet of table parked in what is typically our living room. There's not much space for milling about. Appetizers and cocktails are served at 7:30, but don't expect to move around very freely. We suggest that you get your grub, pick a spot of real estate, make some small talk, and chow down. 8. You can wear whatever you like. Sometimes I joke about turning Cafe Davis into a 12-day ugly sweater marathon, but Mike says that would be "too much." I guess we have to draw the line somewhere. Ugly sweater, cocktail attire, comfy sweats - whatever you want to do is fine. 7. We're assigning seats this year. We don't want all the folks we know well to cluster together, leaving our new friends feeling awkward across the very large table. So think of some conversation starters, and get ready to make some new friends. Wondering what to say? Here are five awesome and five awful conversation starters. 6. Food is served family style 'cause Cafe Davis is one big family. (Spoiler alert for next year - I think we're going to try to engineer a giant Lazy Susan. And no, you can't ride on it.) 5. We have a young child, who may or may not be on her best behavior. Eight o'clock is her witching hour. We will try our best to get her in bed, but there are no guarantees. Some nights there may be other wild/cranky/loud children in attendance as well. Children are the only guests allowed to be cranky, although we will tolerate wild and loud in reasonable doses from the grownups. 4. We've been doing this a long time, and we often get asked the same questions. If you're not a newbie and you've heard a story a million times, our apologies in advance. 3. We're getting all up in social media this year. We have a Cafe Davis photographer to assist me in taking pics of food and your smiling faces, and you will eventually see those posted here on the website. I also set up an Instagram account @Cafe_Davis that is synced with our Cafe Davis Facebook page, so you can look for documentation of your frolicking fun there as well. Feel free to share #cafedavis. 2. Please don't feel compelled to clear the table/wash the dishes when all is said and done. Blink and you'll miss our tiny countertops, and it's easier for us to construct a leaning tower of dishware in the diminutive area than to have a bunch of people crowded in the kitchen to help. We appreciate the sentiment though, truly. 1. We aim to make food that's delicious, but we're not chefs. Sometimes ingredients aren't available. Sometimes we mess things up. That's why we ask you ALL to bring dessert. If the biscuits are flat and there wasn't enough meatloaf to go around, at least you'll go to sleep with visions of cookies, cakes, pies, trifles, fudge, etc. dancing in your heads. And bonus - this year we have to-go boxes for you so you can take extra sweets for the road. If you feel compelled to say, "no, you keep it," don't. Remember, we have 12 guests showing up with dessert the very next night! Hopefully Cafe Davis is a bit demystified for you now. If you have more questions, you're always welcome to contact Alysia. See you soon! |