An exercise in organized chaos

T-minus-24-hours.

All except the last minute bread-and-ice shopping is done.

The pork's marinating.

The tartlett stuffing is assembled and mascerating in the 'fridge.

The crab cheesecake is in the oven.

The living room's mostly vacuumed, and all of the hard surfaces *except* the kitchen floor have been mopped clean.

We're making progress.

Slowly.

I've learned not to panic -- it doesn't get things done any faster. And in the end, it all comes together. Sure, we may drop a planned item from the menu for lack of time, but our guests are none-the-wiser (unless they're reading this on Monday comparing Tuesday's list to what actually hits the buffet tomorrow). But no one walks away hungry.

Bu-uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

There's the oven; the cheesecake's done.

Now excuse me while I go elbow deep in meatballs...

As promised, the recipe for Dom's Mom's Meatballs:

2 pounds ground chuck
1/2 pound ground pork
2 cups Italian flavored bread crumbs (up to 3 cups, depending on the moisture content in the meatball mixture)
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup grated cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped very fine
1 onion, minced
1/2 cup pignoli (pine nuts) (optional)

Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Let stand 1/2 hour. Shape into medium-size meatballs. Fry gently in olive oil until lightly browned, or place on foil on a cookie sheet and bake for 1/2 hour at 350 degrees. Gently place in your own hot spaghetti sauce and cook on medium-low heat for 1 hour.

We typically opt for plan B and bake the meatballs for 20 minutes at 350. We skip the sauce and stack the almost-baked meatballs in a four-quart countertop oven (think Nesco) set at 250 about a half hour before our guests are supposed to arrive. We occasionally serve a zesty mustard or a BBQ sauce on the side, but they're perfectly good "naked".

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