the deep breath before the plunge

After coming back from the immigration office, I gathered up the hot dogs (cooked last night) and the final set of toppings and condiments to the office. Tonight, I cook up the final two things left to cook: the burger patties and the burger buns. With the buns, I'm wavering over whether to take the time to give them a sesame-seed topping: right now, the bread is bare. If the goal is to simulate something close to a Shake Shack burger, though, then I need the sesame seeds. At the same time, I'm using square buns, so I'm already in violation of the Shake Shack Way of Doing Things, which in turn means I don't need to stick on the sesame seeds. In the end, I'm going to work on the beef patties first, then gauge my energy levels to see whether I have it in me to seed up the buns. Since I have to toast the buns as well, there's a good chance I won't have the energy, late at night, to do any bun-seeding.

I bought an extra gas burner for tomorrow. My work station is starting to look, comically, like a kitchen. But it's all good: I think I have a plan in place; it's now just a matter of executing it. With three burners, I can keep the burgers, dogs, and chili warm; the baked beans will get warmed first, then I'll just rely on residual heat to keep them palatable. If worse comes to worst, the diners can take their food to the microwave for a little warming. Meanwhile, the corn salad won't make an appearance until just before it's time to eat: I don't want it warming up too much. My cornbread will also need to be microwaved just before service, but I think, overall, that this is going to be doable. I'm going to be one tired Kevin by the end of all this, but it will have been worth it. I think.

At least, I won't have too much to tote over tomorrow: most of the food is already here.