Chapter 18 (Mrs. Dixon Asks Questions continued)

How It Tasted

Hamburger Steak with Lemon Butter

Well...

These “steaks” actually tasted better than they looked, but they were after all just hamburger meat. My son in particular seemed troubled not to see them slathered with condiments, lettuce, tomato etc. It took a lot of coaxing to convince him that yes, ground beef could be eaten sans bun!

Baked Potatoes

Bettina’s method of baking potatoes worked fine—to my amazement the spuds didn’t explode. 

Unfortunately their fine and mealy character was undermined by my rather obvious finger marks all over them (had to break them open to let the steam escape). I don’t believe guests in particular would want to eat potatoes that had been handled in such a way—I certainly wouldn’t.

Escalloped Cabbage

Filip: This is cabbage?

This dish gets high marks for making cooked cabbage not only palatable but virtually invisible as well. The white sauce and bread crumbs did a splendid job of masking the rather distinct taste and look of the stuff (alas probably obliterated any nutritional benefits as well). Those limp green strands went down very nicely—even DS had no complaints.

Pear Salad

Milomir: Wow.

Suffice it to say this dish brought on a fair amount of eye rolling from the troops. I thought we’d all become rather jaded to Bettina's excesses but no--this “salad” definitely broke new ground. None of the elements—the pears, filling, the dressing drizzled on top—were bad in themselves, but taken altogether—wow! is right.

Bread and Butter

This bakery loaf was, despite the hefty price tag, basically just a decent loaf of bread. But the imported French butter—ooh la la! was it salty! Butter containing salt is a standard item at the dinner table, but this imported stuff was just a little (OK a lot) too much.

Prune Soufflé

I’ll spare everyone the rather earthy comments this dish provoked—haven’t heard so much toilet humor since my son graduated from Pull Ups. The taste wasn’t bad, but no one (myself included) could get around the rather vile nature of the dish’s texture and color. Even lashings of custard sauce couldn’t make this soufflé more appealing—it was a true failure and went from the dinner table straight into the trash.

Would I Make This Again?

Alas I expect my family would turn vigilante if I served this meal again. Although the ingredients were reasonable—ground beef, cabbage, prunes—the overly elaborate recipes made them into something totally new and bizarre.

This meal was so poorly received it easily qualifies for a top spot on Bettina’s Roll of Shame—an atrocity from first course to last, and a total waste of time and money.