Notes to self on cooking for crowds and an account of a mini-vacation skiing in Northern Michigan...

Notes to self on cooking for crowds and an account of a mini-vacation skiing in Northern Michigan...

To feed spaghetti to 17 people you need about 3 jars of tomato sauce (about 1 qt * 3) with 4, maybe 5 boxes of spaghetti. An onion, couple cloves of garlic and a pound of ground beef round it out. I did six boxes of spelt spaghetti and it was too much. I might have been able to make 4 boxes in one big soup pot, but I did 3 boxes each in two big pots and it didn't glump together. You need a little over 2 good-sized heads of red leaf lettuce for a salad plus a couple of cukes, peppers and carrots or other decorative vegies. Two loaves of garlic bread were about right, but there wasn't any left over either. A 9x14 pan of Pat's oatmeal chocolate chip bars were EASY and a big hit. I didn't know I could actually could pull of a meal like this, but I did, and I got a couple "This is really good!!!" comments.

Skiing was a blast. Weather was perfect Friday with a little fresh snow and hardly anybody on the lifts. Saturday was a little rougher with a lot of fresh, wet snow falling in the afternoon. That made the skiing harder, but I still had a good time. This is the first time I've been out in 2 years, and while I'm not a great skier, I do OK if I stay within my limits. I did fall a couple of times - and my knees are feeling it today. But it is exhilarating to have a good run.

The skiing is only part of the fun. The friends I go with are people I've known for years and we have a good time talking, cooking, and eating. And eating. And eating. And talking. I enjoy the adult kids I've watched growing up (including, of course, my own) and it was great to see the new babies, and catch up with everyone.

Michigan does a pretty good job of keeping their roads clear, but the 5 1/2 hr drive home turned into 8 1/2 hours because of snow, high winds, and low visibility. Of course there was a detour in Grand Rapids so L could catch her flight home. She made it, but it was nip and tuck; a high stress drive in an unfamiliar car. After I dropped her off, I imposed a no-pass policy and stayed in the slow lane. It proved to be a good policy because about 10 miles south of GR I stopped 4 cars short of a 10+ car pileup. The 3 guys behind me got stopped too, but the 4 and 5th were going to fast: one went flying past on the left to join the pileup ahead of us while one flirted with the ditch on the right. I think he got stopped OK. There was a tiny lane open and they directed traffic through while waiting for police and wreckers to show up.

So I'm exhausted. I've consumed a tea pot of ginger tea to rehydrate myself and I'm listening to Palestrina, hoping the others make it home safely too.