policyvote Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Okay, so Mrs. Policyvote came up with a great idea: since she'll be taking the kids to swim class in the early evening, she'll buy a few key ingredients and keep them secret from me. Then when I come home, I'll be charged with making a dinner that features those ingredients by the time she gets home. I'm really excited to see how I do. I'll post 'em up when I'm done. Peace policy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
untateve Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Okay, so Mrs. Policyvote came up with a great idea: since she'll be taking the kids to swim class in the early evening, she'll buy a few key ingredients and keep them secret from me. Then when I come home, I'll be charged with making a dinner that features those ingredients by the time she gets home. I'm really excited to see how I do. I'll post 'em up when I'm done. Peace policy Sounds like good fun. I'll be interested to hear how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bier Meister Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 i have had numerous "interviews" that went like that with a time limit. they are often referred to as mystery baskets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpwallace49 Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 i have had numerous "interviews" that went like that with a time limit. they are often referred to as mystery baskets. Yep . . that is how I interview final candidates for executive chefs . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
policyvote Posted July 8, 2010 Author Share Posted July 8, 2010 (edited) Okay, here's how I did. First, the sack of goodies. My wife said she went "pretty safe" for the first time around. http://tweetphoto.com/31377945 Eggs, havarti cheese, a sweet onion, applesauce, and a zucchini she picked from our garden. With eggs as the protein, I wanted to pick a form that I could do most of the prep work for, then serve a la minute, so I picked omelettes. Given how brutally hot it is outside, I wanted to have something cool as a side. I sort-of-quasi-julienned the zucchini, along with some pan squash from the farmers' market. I was looking to impart flavor without cooking, so I went for acid. I cut the applesauce with ponzu (had to experiment with ratios), tossed it together with the zucchini and squash, and put it in the fridge to soak up the flavors. Meanwhile, I fried up some smoked bacon I had, and reserved the fat. I sliced the onion, and jullienned a jalapeno. I caramelized the onion and jalapeno in the bacon fat, while chopping the bacon and shredding the havarti. The kids came home about then, so I cracked and beat the eggs, adding a bit of salt, pepper, and a splash of milk (as I am wont to do). After plating a bed of salad greens (bought pre-mixed from the farmer's market a couple days ago), I yoinked the zucchini/squash from the fridge, tossed it again, and then laid it on top of the greens. Then I simply made the omelettes, with the bacon, havarti, and caramelized onions & jalapeno. the "beauty" plate (composed in a furious rush, this was dinner for five after all): http://tweetphoto.com/31378554 Yes, I have the knife skills of an orangutan. Anyway, the meal was well-received. The omelette was great. The bacon and cheese were perfect together. The onions and jalapeno were actually a touch too sweet; I probably needed a little more jalapeno to get the flavor I was going for--though "too sweet" is the direction I wanted to err in, given that I was cooking for my kids. The salad I liked, though again my chopping/julienning/whatever was really clumsy. I also should have plated the salad last, because the "cold" salad heated up to "not hot" in just the few minutes it was out. This was an encouraging start; the Mrs. was thrilled. She LOVED the omelette, and didn't think it was too sweet at all. I'm curious to see what the she has in store for next week. Peace Ty Edited July 8, 2010 by policyvote Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
untateve Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 I think you did well. I'm going to see if my wife is up for this idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
policyvote Posted July 8, 2010 Author Share Posted July 8, 2010 Thanks, unta! Yeah, we're both excited about how well it went. Peace policy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Cid Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Awesome. I've talked about doing something like this with the wife but have never put it into action. I'm going to revisit this with her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 (edited) I wish I had some more culinary skills. I mean I love to eat. I like to cook. How can I be such a dolt to how to make them go together in perfect harmony? I think while I am off work I am going to see if I can get into some community college cooking classes. At the very least a wine class that I can get all hopped up in. Oh and what I meant to post what that this sounds really cool, Policy. Edited July 10, 2010 by Skippy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.