Can I get away with it?

We have a branch of Cook near us who do great meals that taste home made and I have no compunction in buying from them if entertaining and I'm too busy to cook. I also 'fess up to having bought, better than the guilt!

How did it go?
Bet you had a good evening.

Fess up.

It’s not only good for the soul but could add to the joy of the evening sharing similar stories with your friend.

Why be afraid to admit you’ve bought in? Just say “ you’ll never guess what, I was so busy, I didn’t have time to cook, so I’ve cheated and am trying this meal from xxxx. I hope you don’t mind, “ have a glass of fizz and some nibbles when they arrive,add some nice bread and salads, keep the wine flowing and no one will mind. Maybe do a simple dessert, some chocs, good coffee , keep chatting. They’ve come for the company, not the haute cuisine! !

ps a bit of grated nutmeg in the white sauce always adds a bit of je-ne-sais-quoi!

Thank goodness she texted you LyndaW!

Imagine if you had decided to stay in town for something to eat

Make sure you put it into your own dishes first and be ready with the answer when they ask for the recipe!

Absolutely, I have no hesitation in admitting a ready meal if it is good enough. Think ingenuity

I would confess and not even feel bad about it . It could happen to any of us.

Several of us arrived at book group a couple of months ago to be greeted by our host saying ‘Oh! Is it tonight?’
At least your memory was prodded a few hours before the event Lynda
I would have to confess about the ready meal as I’m no good at lying

I was planning on making lasagne for a lunch for 10. When it came to the day before I simply had such a lot on. Called with our excellent butcher who does fabulous (only slightly lesser than my own) 'ready meals' and bought 3 family sized lasagnes. Put them into a really large lasagne dish and pressed them gently, guiding them to shape and fill the dish. One jar of Ragu White Sauce over the top and to fill any little joins - and loads of extra grated cheese. When all golden and bubbling and ready to serve I gave it a dressing of some coriander and ordinary parsely.

It looked fabulous, and have indeed done it again on occasion.

Don't worry, we all do it sometime or another. We were settling down at home one week end, fire lit, wine opened when there was a phone call from friends: 'Where are you? has there been a delay?' We were meant to have been going to stay with them for the weekend and had completely forgotten.

Our very lame excuse was that both of us had been away from home for most of the week due to (different) work commitments and it was a month end. We hadn't turned over the calendar. the weekend was the 1-2 of the month. I still squirm with embarrassment even thinking about it

I’m sure you will. I’d take all the ready components and put them into my own dishes before cooking.
If it’s something like Lasagna, then add some extra cheese on top, to brown in a home made fashion!
If soups on the menu, sprinkle some herbs or Home made croutons on the top.
Tricks learnt from my mother, who was an awful cook. She bought everything and passed it off as her own.