A few weeks ago I made dinner for a guest. I don't usually like cooking for other people. My biggest mistake tonight was not being sure what I wanted to cook. I had all the right ingredients but too many questions. Do I want the onions sliced thick or thin? Should I cut the sausage or cook it whole? Do I want tomato paste or sauce? Do I pair it with pasta or rice? I had too many questions and it seems I chose wrong on all counts.
- I sliced one onion, chopped 3 celery stalks and minced 3 cloves of garlic and sauteed them in olive oil.
- I sliced the sausage in half and then cut pieces. I should have probably left the sausage whole to contain the sausage flavor and juices.
Once I committed to rice I chose to use tomato paste thinking a thicker sauce would be better. I forgot the sausage would itself be a rich flavor and the intense flavor of the paste overpowered the dish. I tried to save it with a 1/2 c white wine, but I really just needed to add water, which I did later.
The flavor was too strong, the pieces of meat were too small and by the end of the meal I was unsatisfied. Unfortunately for our guest, you can't win them all!
1 comment:
Reminds me of the time many years ago that I made crock-pot chop suey for a new boyfriend I was trying to impress. The result was tasteless, tough meat and vegetables that were so mushy they were almost unrecognizable. As it turned out my boyfiend's parents (his father was Japanese) catered Japanese food on weekends and so he spent about 10 minutes telling me how to prepare good Japanese food and courteously chewing tirelessly on the meat. I, meanwhile, ate yogurt and tried to figure out how I could convince him that we should drive through McDonald's! Did try making anything like that again for years! LOL
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