Memories of My Senior Prom: The Food
I have a lot of good memories of my senior prom. The Hilton's California ballroom, the
dancing, and socializing with friends were some of the memories. But most of all, the
food was the best memory of all. The food served at Castlemont High's senior prom was
colorful and delicious. One could not help but to see, smell, and eventually consume the
food. The meal consisted of hors d'oeurves, the main course, beverages, and dessert.
All of these delicacies combined made the prom a satisfying experience.
I remember vividly the set of hors d'oeurves. The hors d'oeurves were arranged in a
big heart to set the mood of mystery and romance. The bright crimson bell pepper stood
mighty in the face of its relative, the humble, dull, green pepper. The darkened pieces
of beef had visible hints of all purpose seasoning and slivers of onions. The dull pink
jumbo shrimp looked like crescent moons, outrageously swollen, and just about ready to
bust out of their transparent, segmented shells.
The smell of hors d'oeurves served to whet the appetite of all in attendance. The
hickory smell of beef stood out to draw everyone near. The shrimp had a salty smell with
a hint of ocean water. The bell peppers, both green and red, had a tart smell, compared
to their fleshy counterparts. My taste buds watered, but nothing could compare to the
next course I was about to see.
After devouring the hors d'oeurves, the main course was set before us. The arrangements
of Chinese styled meats, rice, and vegetables were scrumptious. The roasted chicken with
its dry skin was covered by an orange sauce with green onions glued to the surface of the
sauce. The rice, darkened to the color of light brown, housed the pieces of yellow and
white scrambled egg, the cubed pieces of salted, cured ham, and shreds of imitation
shrimp meat. The stir fried vegetables were made up of carrots, long two inch green
string beans, and the head and partial stems of broccoli. The shreds of carrot were
intermingled between the broccoli and the string beans.
Not only did the main course look good, it tasted excellent. The roasted orange glazed
chicken was sweet and spicy, spicy enough so that with every few bites I had to sip some
cold water. The fried rice reeked of salty ham, and freshly scrambled egg. The rice
also had the scent of soy sauce, which was used to darken the rice. The carrots
dominated the scent of the stir fry vegetables. The faint, bitter smell of broccoli
came in second, while the buttered string beans had little scent at all. However, after
staying in the vicinity, you knew the string beans were present.
A meal just wouldn't be complete without an assortment of beverages. The beverages
complemented the main course. Variety was not a problem. One could have their choice of
presweetened Kool Aid, or a natural Smoothie. The Kool Aid's black/red color gave me a
hint of what flavor it was: black cherry. The Smoothie was a progeny of oranges and
white sweet cream. The combination of these two gave the Smoothie a creamy look, with
white foam bobbing on the top.
Smelling the drinks gave me a calming effect. For instance, the Smoothie's tart orange
smell and the Kool Aid's smooth black cherry smell served to calm my taste buds from the
workout that they had just received.
In time, dessert was the only frontier left to explore. There were three selections to
choose from - strawberry cheesecake, apple pie, and chocolate fudge brownies. The cool
strawberry cheesecake had fresh bright red strawberries laying on top of the off- white,
solid cream cheese bottom. The steaming hot apple pie was fresh out of the oven with
its golden brown crust and golden colored apples encased in a checkerboard crusty top.
Lastly, the fudge brownies were dark brown with pieces of walnuts poking out of the
brownies as if sunken ships were trying to get out a sea of mud.
The smell of the dessert climaxed the food experience. The cheesecake smelled like a
ripe strawberry patch with a light hint of cream cheese. The apple pie smelled like
apples steamed and then suffocated in a room of crust. And lastly, the brownie had the
sweet smell of semi- sweet chocolate morsels and baked walnuts.
Yes, there were many memories of the prom. But the excellent food that was served
proved to be the best memory for me; a memory so strong that I will remember it for years
to come.
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