I had several days where things just went wrong in the kitchen. J from A Half-Baked Life came down with her family to visit. I had planned soup and rolls for lunch but both failed. The rolls didn't rise as they should have, and the soup was a disaster. I couldn't serve it, so lunch was out instead.
On Christmas day I kept the dinner plans simple, with eggnog and cookies planned for dessert. The red wine gravy for the Beef Wellington failed. (The Beef Wellington itself was lovely, and I'm sure the gravy was my fault.) Both cookie recipes I mixed refused to roll out and cut out properly. Despite my best efforts at tempering the eggs the eggnog curdled. I served a friend's gift of Austrian Christmas Bread and the box of chocolates my mother brought. I used a stick blender to revive the eggnog, and there was enough rum available that folks didn't seem to mind.
I had planned roasted balsamic carrots with Christmas dinner, but I realized far too late that I didn't have balsamic vinegar in the house. So I threw ginger in with the carrots instead. Naturally, the carrots, which I hadn't planned, were the hit of the dinner and my husband asked me to make them again, and I expect he'll be happy to see them often. I'll be happy to make them often as they're quick and easy. Here they are will last night's dinner:
Roasted Ginger Carrots.
Ingredients:
1 pound carrots
1 inch piece fresh ginger
olive oil
salt to taste
Method:
Preheat oven to 425 Fahrenheit
Scrub and trim carrots. Slice thinly. Spread the carrots on a baking sheet. Peel and grate the ginger, adding it to the carrots. Sprinkle with salt and drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat. Roast for 10-15 minutes until carrots begin to soften. Serve and eat.
On Christmas day I kept the dinner plans simple, with eggnog and cookies planned for dessert. The red wine gravy for the Beef Wellington failed. (The Beef Wellington itself was lovely, and I'm sure the gravy was my fault.) Both cookie recipes I mixed refused to roll out and cut out properly. Despite my best efforts at tempering the eggs the eggnog curdled. I served a friend's gift of Austrian Christmas Bread and the box of chocolates my mother brought. I used a stick blender to revive the eggnog, and there was enough rum available that folks didn't seem to mind.
I had planned roasted balsamic carrots with Christmas dinner, but I realized far too late that I didn't have balsamic vinegar in the house. So I threw ginger in with the carrots instead. Naturally, the carrots, which I hadn't planned, were the hit of the dinner and my husband asked me to make them again, and I expect he'll be happy to see them often. I'll be happy to make them often as they're quick and easy. Here they are will last night's dinner:
Roasted Ginger Carrots.
Ingredients:
1 pound carrots
1 inch piece fresh ginger
olive oil
salt to taste
Method:
Preheat oven to 425 Fahrenheit
Scrub and trim carrots. Slice thinly. Spread the carrots on a baking sheet. Peel and grate the ginger, adding it to the carrots. Sprinkle with salt and drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat. Roast for 10-15 minutes until carrots begin to soften. Serve and eat.
I'm sorry that you had such a run of kitchen disasters!
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, I think you survived them all pretty well ... even if you felt beaten, you were flexible enough to change plans. Me, I go wringing my hands for days ... ;)
A bit of hand-wringing ahead of time might have been useful. Many of these failures were due to my own poor planning.
ReplyDeleteThe beef was fantastic. We didn't miss the gravy at all. And the carrots were spectactular.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I guess the gravy might have been necessary with a piece of meat that was not as juicy (frankly another 5-10 minutes in the oven wouldn't have been a terrible idea. It was mighty rare.)
ReplyDeleteAnd the carrots were spectacular, which is extra nice since they're also easy and good for you. How often does that happen?