Burnt to a Crisp

Customarily, after a wedding, there are 6 days of celebration that ensue, which include a festive dinner for those 6 days following the Jewish wedding. Typically, family and friends of the bride and groom host the dinner parties.

Our family is hosting the one on Thursday evening. The aunts worked out a menu and jobs were given out, mine, EGGPLANT ROLLITINI. A delicious dish of a ricotta cheese, basil, garlic and mozzarella cheese mixture rolled into thinly sliced eggplant, topped with a savory marinara sauce. It is not the easiest thing to make, however the taste is otherworldly.

Upon mentioning to my mother that this is the job I ended up with, however I do not have all the diary ingredients, my aunt will probably send them over, and that it was not the easiest dish to make, she went on to pressure me as to why I was making such a complicated dish. Couldn't someone else make that she asked? Can't you just make a rice or something simple? Why are you making such a time consuming thing? She then told me she mentioned to another aunt of mine that it was just TOO MUCH for me to be making eggplant rollitini and I should just make something simpl.e

While two out of the three trays of the eggplant were cooking, the organizing aunt calls me frantic. "DID YOU CALL YOUR OTHER AUNT TO CALL ME TO TELL ME THAT IT'S JUST TOO MUCH FOR YOU TO MAKE THIS EGGPLANT?" I calmly explained that I have no idea what she is talking about as I haven't even spoken to that aunt since the wedding.

As we continued talking, it all made sense. Mom shared her thoughts about the eggplant with her sister, who happened to be speaking to the organizing aunt who mentioned to her, that perhaps I should make an easier, less time consuming dish.
WOWEEEE, the only one missing in this equation was my grandmother, usually she is involved in these stupidities, but thankfully this time she was not mixed in! I have no idea how that was avoided.

I told the organizing aunt that the trays were in the oven and the conversation was over.

Back to the eggplant. Two out of the three trays were cooling on the counter. I was downstairs on my computer when I began to fall asleep! I ran upstairs, brushed my teeth and collapsed into bed. At 4AM the baby woke up. Something smelled. I ran to the kitchen. Tray #3 of the eggplant rollitini is burnt to a crisp.

Thankfully, it didn't get to the point of setting off the smoke alarms, or breaking my oven (which is only supposed to cook 3 hours at a time). But now, we are down to two trays of eggplant for 50 people instead of three.

Well, all those that thought I should not be making such a complicated dish should not have any, that way there will be enough for those that appreciate my time and effort in preparing it and cheered me on instead of whining about it.

Weigh in, do you think that since so many people got involved in my eggplant, it just had to burn? Or is just the irony of the whole story?