So I give credit where credit is due. My sister in law, the one who is not a great cook and always asks me to bring something me and my wife can eat, she actually handled the kitchen really well. There were about 20 guests, 4 -6. burners going at all times and 2 ovens full. Nothing got burned and everything was ready about the same time.
That being said, when I got there and handed her my 2 main dishes ( Truffle Mac and cheese and a sweet potato lasagna, she put one on top of the other, pushing the cheese topping onto the foil that was covering it. I cringed and probably looked visibly upset. The half hour before dinner was served, I made my presence in the kitchen just to make sure things were going smoothly ( and my dishes weren't ruined ). When it was time for dessert, she took my pumpkin chiffon pie out of the fridge and while doing so, jammed her thumb into the foil topping, leaving a hug thumbprint in my beautifully decorated pie. Not intentional, but still made me cringe, as I worked extra hard. But all in all, everything went smoothly and tasted good. My dishes were the ones that went the quickest ( Truffle Mac & Cheese the only dish that was completely eaten up. The lasagna about 80 %. eaten. Everything else 50% or less. I think people like traditional, but also get tired of the same old same old and look forward to trying new things. And what's great is the food I brought was 100% vegan. Trust me, I know some vegan food can be wacky with bizarre ingredients, but good food is good food. Glad they were all open minded .