Embarrassing Admission

Today was our Department Christmas luncheon at work. Does anyone else remember our elaborate Company Christmas parties in the past? I do! The champagne fountains, the huge bowls of oversized shrimp, the gourmet meals, the well-stocked bar.. Well, this wasn't it! It was two 6-foot subs from Subway and the rest was "bring a dish to pass."

Now, normally, I am all about this event. It gives me a chance to make a special dish and receive the accolades. But, this year, I just was NOT into it. My all-consuming tile project (as God as my witness, I will never start a project this late in the year again!) has left me drained.

So, I copped out (as we used to say). The last time I was at Gordon Food Services (GFS), I bought five pounds of frozen, one ounce meatballs (hey, not the ordinary five buck kind, but the deluxe nine buck kind - I'm not about to short my IT brethren) and a big (I mean BIG) can of Swedish Meatball sauce. BTW, if you are interested, they also sell a BIG can of sweet and sour sauce for the meatballs if you wanted to go Asian.

So, when I awoke this morning, I immediately put the thawed meatballs in the oval (larger) slow cooker and then added the BIG can of Swedish meatball sauce. To that, I added a handful of fresh chopped parsley and about 1/2 cup of a diced sweet onion (it was just a little bland for my taste).

Sidebar: Did you know that a "sweet" onion has absolutely no more sugar than a regular, yellow cooking onion? They just have less sulfur compounds (or the onion taste) than a regular onion.

So, I added my stuff and turned the slow cooker on high. I went and shaved and showered at that point. Once I was ready to go, I turned it off and set it on the front seat floor (passenger side, of course) and went to work.

Once at work, I plugged it in at my office. I put it on "low" and let it warm up, stirring it occasionally. When the sauce started to bubble, I turned it down to "warm" (a nice feature on the new slow cookers, BTW). At 10:50 AM, we all left to go to Building 3 and the party.

They set up tables in the IT office suite, and people started putting out their food. Management had contributed the two 6-foot subs (one "Club" and one "Italian"). I found a plug and set my slow cooker back on "warm." I took out a baggie with some more fresh chopped parsley and sprinkled it on, then put my big spoon next to the cooker. BTW, why do so many people forget to bring a serving spoon with their dish? I dunno, but they do and I didn't want to be "that guy."

We had our annual department meeting first, but by 11:45 PM, we started eating. I waited until the line cleared a bit and then got a plate. I had a piece of the club sub, some homemade potato salad, an Asian-inspired lettuce salad and two pierogies with sour cream (that pierogies person forgot their spoon!). I deliberately didn't take any meatballs, knowing I would be eating all the leftovers. It was all excellent, BTW.

There also was a cheese, meat and shrimp tray, another salad and potato salad, Jello molds, a variety of chips, a huge apple pie and a big chocolate cake. I had to have dessert (which I wouldn't normally do) so I could try Jake's offering.

He made shortbread cookies, topped with sunflower butter (Carla's allergic to peanuts, if you recall) and homemade Blackberry jam. They were outstanding and you would swear the crumb topping was made from nuts. He got a lot of compliments for them.

I got many compliments for the meatballs as well, but I cringed inside when I heard them. I was afraid somebody would ask for the recipe and I would have to confess. Most of the people who tried them went back for seconds, though. When we all cleaned up, I had only about two helping left, which was great. I feared having to eat meatballs all week long!

I left the slow cooker in the car all afternoon (it was colder out there than in the fridge!) When I got home (after "Banging the Drum") I plugged it back in and turned it on "low." Since today was payday, I spent the early night time hours writing out bills or paying them online. I had to renew my license plates (online) and my driver's license (mail only) both this year.

When I was hungry, I made some wide egg noodles and topped some with the Swedish meatballs. Hmmm... they were right! These are good!

I dozed off during Survivor Man on the Discovery Channel, but don't worry, I was taping it as well. When I woke up, I shut everything off and went to bed.