May 26th - South Africa

I know that I'm a bit behind on posting blog updates, and I apologize for the delay. I've been enjoying my time off from the Cafe this week, and this slipped my mind. So, to travel back in time a bit - on May 26th we were graced by Kendra and Trevor Mitchell, and our friends Marnie Petit and Paul Infantino. For those of you who read this blog last year, you'll probably remember Kendra as our housemate. Well, she doesn't live here anymore, but we still love seeing her for dinner!

The cuisine that night was South African, and the menu included Kachoomer, Chakalaka, Chicken Curry with Garlic Cabbage, Pan Fried Sweet Potatoes and the wine was supposed to be Indaba Pinotage. Kendra and Trevor had the starting time wrong in their minds and showed up a little before 6:00 - dinner was at 8:00. I hadn't really started cooking yet, but I opened a bottle of a California Shiraz and enjoyed their company while I prepped and cooked.

Flashback to last year, on the same night that Kendra and Trevor attended then I discovered that I have a skin sensitivity to capaisin, a chemical found in peppers. I also learned that summer to coat my hands in olive oil before handling peppers or to wear gloves - a lesson I apparently forgot. So, one of the recipes called for a hot pepper - I chose one of the hottest, the Scotch Bonnet, and then paid for it all night. Honestly, without knowing what I did to my hand I would have sworn that it was literally on fire. It hurt like mad, and I will never never never forget to wear gloves when handling a pepper again.

Getting my hand close to the stove jacked up the heat that I felt in my skin another intolerable notch, so Mike had to do a lot of the cooking. I am so grateful for his willingness to pitch in. I ate my dinner with a lapful of ice, trying to stop the burning. My comrades helpfully suggested I drink more wine to dull the pain... I guess it worked in the short run! I had a different kind of pain the next day - in my head! Paul also suggested soaking my hand in a mixture of baking soda and water, which I did for the rest of the night. That led to the jewelry fiasco - see the pictures below.

Paul delighted us over dinner with tales of him being hit by a drunk driver - I know that doesn't sound funny, but he and Marnie team up well to tell really hilarious stories. We really enjoy hanging out with them - the last time we were together was at a St. Patrick's Day party in Piedmont Party. That was also a fun time... but that's for another blog.

That's pretty much it - I don't know if it's the time that's passed or the too much vino in my veins that night, but the rest of the details are a bit fuzzy. All in all, I give South African cuisine a thumbs up, and of course the company gets rave reviews.