How many of you have done this - you go to a restaurant and order something and when the server sets the plate down in front of you in your opinion, there's something wrong with it - the dish wasn't what was advertised, it's cold when it shouldn't be, it has things in it that you requested be left out or it's over/under cooked.

And rather than 'cause a scene', you eat it. And sometimes it works out that it's better than you expected but more often than not, each bite just makes you more annoyed at yourself for NOT returning the plate and at the end of the meal the food sits in your belly like a lead weight.

I don't know about you, but I tend to be that person.

One time I was out with friends and we had gone out for my birthday. I ordered a dish and told the server to hold the pilpel which is Hebrew for peppers. My dish arrives, swimming in red peppers. When I said something to the server he said "Yes, you did ask to hold the pilpel. This is gamba".

Silly me for forgetting that the Hebrew word for sweet peppers is different from 'regular' peppers. He took it back and brought it out several minutes later... someone had simply picked out the most visible red peppers off the plate. No, I wasn't expecting different.

More recently I had a bit of a breakthrough.

Thursday many of the Anglos in Ariel had a community meeting at CafeCafe. We met to discuss any issues the new Olim (immigrants) are having and to discuss activities and such. Since it was an official meeting, the city council gave us 300NIS to spend on food. Since we were about 20 people, we were allowed 15NIS to spend. Most folks ordered hot or cold drinks but a few of us (like me) were hungry. 2 people ordered sushi. 1 person ordered a sandwich. I ordered Belgian waffles.

It took about 20 minutes for the cold and hot drinks to start showing up. 10 minutes after that the sushi and sandwich arrived. Then my husband came and he ordered sushi. 10 minutes later, my husband had his sushi.

I joked that they had to go to Belgium for the waffles. I waited 5 minutes and asked a server where my waffle was. She said it was coming. A minute later another server placed a spoon and napkin in front of me and set another 2 spoons and napkins to the side.

I don't know about any of you, but I eat my waffles with fork and knife. And I felt it was a tad presumptuous that I'd be sharing with anyone.

It's now been 50 minutes since I ordered. Everyone else has long finished their drinks and even my husband was popping the last bit of sushi into his mouth. And finally a server arrives and sets my order down in front of me.

The plate is drizzled with the bad imitation maple syrup and the even worse imitation chocolate syrup so popular in this country. In the center is a fluffy-looking, golden waffle smothered in a mountain of whipped cream. On either side of the ridge of cream are golf ball sized scoops of ice cream - one chocolate, one vanilla. There's also a small boat of fruit salad (I think it was mostly diced apples). I think they serve it so people feel better about ordering a dish that has a bazillion calories.

I cut into the waffle with my spoon and it starts to slide so with my finger I hold it in place.

The waffle is cold. And not as in 'it's smothered in whipped cream and ice cream so it's transfer' cold. But like 'what do you expect, it's been sitting on the counter for 40 minutes' cold.

I called the server over and told her I was sending it back because it was cold. She mumbled an apology, took it away and came back a few minutes later to tell me they were going to make me another plate. I told her to forget about it because the meeting was over and everyone was finished eating.

Before going home, Zach and I went for pizza.

For some things I don't do well with surprises and for the most part, don't really like spontaneity. Like meals. And having guests. I need to have it planned, I need to HAVE a plan.

Lately I've started shopping for Shabbat on Wednesday or even Tuesday and starting my cooking on Thursday. It's been making Fridays a lot more enjoyable.

This Thursday my father in law (FIL) will be arriving for a week. We've invited the Rabbi of our shul and his family to join us for the Friday night meal (his wife is a biologist) and we may have a new family join us as well. They just arrived this week and they have 18 and 20 year old daughters. Perfect for the girls.

In honor of my FIL being with us and as a Chanukat haBayit* we will also be hosting an Oneg Shabbat Friday night (which means members of the community are welcome to come by after dinner for cake and mixed nuts and maybe some booze).

So of course I've got a list of the cakes that will be made (and most will make multiple cakes so I'll be able to freeze).

Cinnamon-walnut babka (a crumb topped yeast cake), craisin and almond mandelbroit and a cherry topped yeast cake.

I'm still working on the actual menus.

Friday night we'll start with vegetable-kubbeh soup. The main dish will be felafel-crusted chicken, spinach kugel, sweet potatoes with sweet chili sauce and I'm not sure what else. Oh, regular chicken nuggets for the smaller kids.

Shabbat lunch will be a turkey version of a crock pot BBQ pulled pork recipe I found, home made cole slaw and probably a macaroni salad. Not sure what else. Suggestions of what traditional sides for pulled pork would be appreciated.

* The short version is a Chanukat haBayit is a dedication of the house. Traditionally it is done upon moving into a new home and there is a disagreement about whether it means only a house you own or also one you're renting. And since we've never done a Chanukat haBayit and haven't had much luck with the previous houses we've lived in, we figure we should try it. The whole thing basically involves serving food of some sort and saying several passages of Psalms.