how's this for gross?

My husband and I have had on ongoing debate during our almost 12 years of marriage. Is it necessary to rinse the dishes off before putting them in the dishwasher? He says no, I say yes. And I say not just rinse them, but completely clean them with a brush--and, often, dish soap--until all traces of food, gunk and debris have been removed. I practically load the dishwasher with sparkling clean dishes. What can I say? I'm a clean-freak germ-a-phobe. I'm sure that anyone who has had the pleasure of scraping baked-on macaroni cheese off a plate or peanut butter off a utensil post-wash-cycle will definitely side with me on this one.

Well, I think my dishwashing zeal may have led to tonight's unfortunate situation. It was my night to cook for Supper Club (more on this fabulous setup in another post) so I was focusing on getting the food done, packed and delivered on time. In between, I was setting the table for my own little family to eat. Can you see what's coming? I opened the dishwasher to get out some plates and paused for a minute, trying to recall if I had run it this morning. They looked clean enough so I took them out and put them on the table. It wasn't until after we ate that I opened the dishwasher again only to realize in shock and horror that the dishes were, in fact, still dirty. Ewwww. I had fed my family on soiled, germy, disgusting dishes.

I spent the majority of the evening trying to remember just how well I had pre-washed the plates before loading them--oh, and also keeping myself from being sick. I figured they must have been alright if I had followed my usual MO. Then I just tried to erase the whole ugly incident from my mind.

My only consolation was that I got the double-cleaned, very sanitary utensils out of the drawer.