Sometimes you should read a recipe well in advance of trying to make it. I had read the recipe and made a shopping list. On Saturday, I was going to go get the things I needed and then assemble it. I was having company so I had everything under control - well almost. I'd forgotten about everything else that I was doing that week-end but no matter. We were doing the MS walk on Sunday, so the team captain had everyone over Friday night. Before leaving I made the dessert. The table was already set so I was good to go for a relaxing day on Saturday.

I reread the meat recipe just before getting ready to go out. Then my eye alight on the crucial line, "Marinate for at least four hours beforehand, preferably overnight." Um, the meat was still the freezer. ARGH! Forgot to pull the meat. So I pulled the meat and resolved to deal with it when I got back.

Which is why I found myself at midnight dealing with meat. Smart people would have left it until the next day. I was meeting a friend for breakfast. I didn't think I could deal with the meat before leaving. I have trouble enough being on time without adding to my problems.

So at slightly past midnight I was mixing things in my blender to smear on partially defrosted meat. Then it struck me. I was missing some ingredients. I needed fresh parsley and garlic. It was on my list of things to buy today. I stared at the recipe. Parsley and garlic. The quantities struck me as large enough that they were key ingredients. At this point I panicked. What was the point of putting lemon zest in the rub if you didn't have fresh garlic?

In my excuse, it was late at night and I was tired. I was having a panic attack because I had no idea how to get the fresh produce I needed, get the meat prepared and into the fridge and still make it to breakfast. After discarding the idea of phoning friends who lived nearby to ask if I could borrow the items (not because it was a ridiculous thing to do or late at night but because my friends most likely wouldn't have the item on hand), it suddenly struck me. I had bottled garlic. I had dried parsley. They just might do. After searching through the cookbooks, I found the conversion rate between fresh and bottled for both items and dumped an approximate amount of both into the blender. Finally, one partially defrosted rubbed piece of meat went into the fridge and I went to bed hoping that it would do.

The funny thing was that it did do. My dinner party was a smash. We've been inspired to have another one; at someone else's place, which suits me just fine. It's my turn to have a decent night's sleep.