And I felt love

It was such a great weekend.

Friday night Chris and I went to a terrific vegetarian Indian Restaurant. We had samosas,Uthappam, vegetable korma, and Palak paneer. It was top notch. Then we went to the store to get a few "last minute" items for Palm Sunday Brunch.

As we shopped for food Chris wondered if the light would be bright enough in the kitchen for pictures. "Plenty bright" I told him - not elaborating further. When he got there - and saw the professional kitchen - and the size of it, he totally laughed. "Not what I was envisioning," he said.

We were there Saturday by 8:30. My great crew showed up to help out. We cooked off 10 lbs of sausage, 10 lbs of bacon, made 120 pancakes, and rolled out the dough and cut out 220 biscuits. Plus we prepped strawberries, oranges, and grapes for fruit salad. That night, I cooked for he and the Good Doctor. Mahi-mahi with this great Cuban chili-pepper/marmalade sauce, braised baby bok choy, and lemon orzo. 

Sunday we were back in the kitchen by 7:15. And I think this is where I felt the love the most. I had my guys with me. Chris - jumping in and helping - Dudley - my favorite sous-chef, Cullen - meat carver extraordinaire, and Joyce - chief coffee maker and dishwasher. There were others who wandered in during the morning - my buddy Hal who helped finish off the grits casserole and Marty and Bill - the best cleanup crew around.

Here are two of Chris' photos. I don't know if they'll impart the sense of what a well-oiled machine we are when we cook together. But everyone was in the groove. And the food looked beautiful. The Good Doctor even showed up - and the church didn't burn down.

All in all - a day full of God's love - the love of my friends - and the love of food and serving. It was an amazing, amazing thing.

Here's just two pictures.

I may not be southern, but I can roll out a mean biscuit!

Food on the line: