Trial and Error
My family is full of great cooks on both sides. Because I could always rely on them I've never had to learn much about cooking myself. But although today is only the third Surprise Sunday Sunrise Sustenance I'm already learning a lot. Today I decided to make whole grain pancakes with wild blueberry-maple syrup and grilled cinnamon bruschetta with strawberries and mascarpone. During the process, I learned three valuable lessons that my family knows by heart:
1) Menu planning requires thought. I wanted to focus on fruit this week, which is why I chose what I chose. It wasn't until this morning that I realized this menu is all fruit and carbs, no protein. Not the end of the world, obviously. But still it's going to be difficult to fit eggs or breakfast meat into every meal without it being the centerpiece. I should have learned this from Melissa, who painstakingly plans out the entire week's meals every Saturday and Sunday.
2) Read the recipes. Unbeknown to me, the pancake recipe assumed that the mix you're using included eggs. The recipe on the Bisquick box (the mix I was using) told you to add eggs. Had I looked at the Bisquick recipe, I wouldn't have wasted a third of my batter on pancakes that never cooked. I should have learned this from FIL. Though he might make some changes during the process, he always reads all the directions (twice) before starting.
3) Have a appetizer on hand. I know, appetizers aren't usually associated with breakfast. And I wasn't planning the bruschetta to be an appetizer. But when my first batch of pancakes failed and the second took longer than expected to cook, it turned into an appetizer. Melissa would have probably moved on to microwaved oatmeal if I didn't have something to tide her over. I should have learned this from HIMOM who serves more appetizers than there's room on the table.
At the end of it, the bruschetta was excellent! It's not the healthiest thing ever, but we're still giving it five stars for the subtle combination of flavors. The pancakes get three stars. The blueberry-maple syrup was good, but the pancakes were nothing special.
Have a better pancake recipe? Advice for menu planning? A spare copy of Hooked on Phonics to help me read the instructions? Let me know!
4 comments:
Joe, I seriously doubt that there are many husbands who would even attempt such a thoughtful and painstaking task on occasion, let alone on a weekly basis. Here's to you and Melissa and the many special Sunday mornings that lie ahead. And remember, regardless of the outcome, it really is the thought that counts.
I'm loving the food portion of the blog...I could read about food all day. Post pics of the meals!
I menu plan at home- I know that it is tough! Some advice:
1. Always read the recipe thoroughly. Double the times they give you (except on meat for the most part), since you don't have a culinary degree or a fancy-pants stove. Also, check if it has any weird, long-winded, time-consuming steps. Then, see if you can change them, or find a different recipe for the same food.
2. When you don't have enough "healthy" stuff, always add a salad. For you, the breakfast man, you can have a fruit salad (there are many many of these), or even a lettuce salad with strawberries, oranges, or the like.
3. If you are doing a long recipe (and you know because you read the recipe and doubled the times!), then do have a snack available. Toast, phyllo cups with something savory in them, the aforementioned salad, whatever. You may be fine, since you are busy cooking, but the people waiting on you won't be.
Brutus makes good pancakes- maybe you gentlemen can wrangle a fabulous breakfast for us all (the bruschetta sounds great, and I can eat it now- marscapone does not equal nutty marzipan!) next time the clan gets together.
-K
@Himom - its the thought that counts until someone goes to the hospital because of uncooked food! Let us know if you're going to be in Jersey some Sunday morning and you can partake in the "thought."
@LAB - pictures were part of my original plan, but I'm still too unorganized in the kitchen to juggle the camera and the spatula at the same time. But stay tuned.
@K ~ good advice. Did a fruit salad with apricot pie filling mixed in last weekend. It was delic.
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