How It Tasted
Ham
This meat was excellent: tender, well colored, and
with a good smoke flavor.
I was pleasantly surprised to see the enthusiasm with
which the troops chowed down—everyone assumed it was ham and I saw no point in
setting them straight.
Mashed
Potatoes
That this dish too was successful was really no surprise—we
eat mashed potatoes fairly often.
But I do have to admit that mashing the spuds by hand
seemed to make a difference. Generally I use my electric mixer to whip them
into shape, but the texture can’t compare to potatoes beaten by hand.
Whether that’s
a good thing to know I’m not certain…hand-mashed potatoes may be superior but
oh! they’re a lot of work to prepare.
Escalloped
Onions
Filip:
Is that cauliflower?
Much to my surprise neither DH nor Son connected this
dish to the sharp-smelling onion that had been smoking in the oven just a short
time ago. Somehow (miraculously) the onion’s bite disappeared by the time the
serving dish landed on the table, and no one was certain what it was.
After being reassured that it was not cauliflower Filip ate a reasonable portion, but my husband
needed some encouragement (“Onions are good for you. They have lots of vitamin
C.”).
Not that I blame him for being cautious, of course. He
has a sensitive stomach and the thought of loading it with acid-producing onions
made him a little nervous. But thanks to the soothing influence of the cream
sauce and the cracker crumbs he had no trouble digesting this dish; in fact, he
asked me to make it again!
Rolls
These rolls really did taste as good as they looked,
and by the end of the meal every one was eaten. I was so pleased I didn’t
bother to mention that I’d made the rolls with commercial dough (a little
deception is an amateur cook’s best friend).
Olive
Oil Pickles
Filip:
[pounding
his chest with his fist]: Stuck for a minute there.
Suffice it to say these pickles were not well received. After a mere
forty-eight hours of brining (rather than the recommended three weeks) they were
incredibly sharp, horrifically salty, and brought an otherwise pleasant dinner
to a screeching halt.
Even I was surprised at how strong these were—and I’m
generally a fan of sharp-tasting foods. But these pickles were too much for me,
for all of us, certainly—so much so that even in three weeks time I’m not sure
I’ll have the courage to serve them again.
Dutch
Apple Cake
(with sauce)
Opinions on this dish were mixed. My son (apparently still suffering from pickle shock) didn't want dessert, my husband didn’t
particularly care for it, but I thought it was great.
The rather plain cake was jazzed up by the
sugar/cinnamon mixture and apples on top, and the lemon sauce really added a
nice touch. It was something like a crumb cake with fruit—really delicious, and
something I definitely could eat a lot of.
Would I Make This Again?
In a heartbeat. Almost everything was well-received,
and my enjoyment of the apple cake seemed to cancel out my husband’s lukewarm
reaction.
The only real problem with the meal was exactly the
same as last time—every single dish but the pickles was white, tan, or yellow.
However good the food tastes its eye-appeal is
important too—something the editors of A
Thousand Ways To Please A Husband surely must have known. Sitting down to a
meal like this makes me wonder what they were thinking—that all husbands are
color blind and/or too busy stuffing their faces to even glance at the plate?
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