a tale of two upcoming office meals

Two cheat days—pretty much in a row—coming up: this coming Friday, my coworker's chef wife will probably be making samgye-tang (ginseng chicken soup, a Korean classic). The very next Monday, July 4th, I'll be doing our huge Fourth of July meal. One of my coworkers is a Korean national, but the rest of our team is nothing but Yanks, so our Korean officemate will reap the benefits of an Amurrican celebration.

For the Monday meal, my boss put in a request for two items I don't normally serve on the Fourth of July: (1) L.A. galbi, and (2) Korean-style corn on the cob. The boss said he'd buy the corn himself; I think he wants it buttered, seasoned, and heated up right on the spot. There are pre-packaged ears of corn that the boss likes, and which he says are pretty sweet. I was going to do something a bit more BBQ-themed, and since I'd recently done burgers and dogs, I thought about doing pulled pork and pulled beef along with my usual trimmings: cole slaw, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, and baked beans. I saw a video in which someone put ground beef into their baked beans, taking the beans in a chili-ish direction, and I thought that was nifty, but I think I'm doing to stick to my usual, i.e., beans with bacon and chopped-up hot dogs. Costco is back to selling its Kirkland-brand franks, so I bought a hefty pack. The nice thing about serving food on a Monday is that I have all weekend to prep.

I'm wondering, though, about the L.A. galbi. That kind of throws off the meal's balance a bit, and I'm tempted to make some oi-muchim (spicy pickled cucumber) to go along with the short ribs. Having one single Korean thing on an otherwise American menu strikes me as weird, and I still don't understand what my boss was thinking, but whatever—I aim to please. That said, I really am thinking we need at least one other Korean item. Maybe a sweet oi-muchim is possible, or a simple pickle in sweetened vinegar.

When the meals happen, expect photos.

As for what the back-to-back cheat days will do to my health... I'm no longer going to the hospital, and I don't plan to visit my local doc until late August, so I'll have plenty of time to get strict about my diet and lower my blood sugar. Any damage from the cheat days ought to be minimal. We'll see.