Chapter 2, Part 2 (Bettina’s First Real Dinner continued)

How It Tasted

Pan-Broiled Steak

Moske: It’s bleeding out.

Enough said.

New Potatoes in Cream

Boring. Boiled potatoes are boiled potatoes, even with a sauce.

Baking-Powder Biscuits with Butter

Filip: These aren’t very good biscuits. They’re crumbling.

Much to my chagrin my son was right. I’m not sure exactly what I did wrong here, but the biscuits were so coarse and crumbly I could have used them to scour the sink. Bleah.

Rhubarb Sauce

As good as I’d hoped. My husband has never eaten rhubarb in any form before and was surprised and pleased by the taste. The sauce’s rosy pinkness also added a much-needed touch of color to the meal.

Pea and Celery Salad

Very very rich, but good. My husband and son were unsure about the paltry leaf or two of lettuce beneath the scoop of cooked salad…was it to be eater or merely for decoration? This pea and mayonnaise concoction doesn’t exactly meet the 21^st century definition of a salad, but it was tasty nonetheless.

Strawberry Shortcake

Even layers of berries and cream couldn’t disguise those awful biscuits. I realized too late that I was supposed to pile berries on top of the shortcake as well. Possibly that would have made this dessert a little better but, quite honestly, I think it was beyond redemption. Double bleah!

Coffee with Cream

Provided a much-needed jolt after this incredibly heavy meal. Even though many of the dishes didn’t come out quite as I hoped we still all ate a substantial amount, and it sat in our stomachs like lead.

Would I Make This Again?

Definitely—this is one menu I hope Bettina trots out again (and if she doesn’t I will). I chalk up many of the failures to my inexperience—the horrible steak and those biscuits could surely be improved upon. Once my taste buds and my stove recover from the trauma (say, six months from now) I'm going to take another crack at this.