Not one thing I have made this week has been pretty. Sunday night, we made Pot Roast with Winter Vegetables. This was not only unappetizing in looks but also in flavor. Imagine a hockey puck surrounded by water-y, tough cabbage. What was I think when I picked this recipe? Also, please consider this an SOS when it comes to cooking with a Dutch Oven. This was a gift from Manatee which I had gone as far as to send him a link to where he could buy me one because I just HAD to have it. Now I have it and clearly have no idea how to use it.
Then we made our Fish Packets with Deconstructed Pesto. This didn't taste awful but it was not a very attractive dish. When you steam basil, it turns brown and crinkly. And fish stinks. A lot.
Finally last night we made Crockpot Santa Fe Chicken. I couldn't find fresh cilantro for it, so I bought this cilantro in a tube. It looked like dark green finger paint. It gave the chicken a nice flavor but between that, the extra can of tomatoes we added and the fact we over-cooked it by about three hours, it was a lovely shade of dark brown with black (bean) and yellow (corn) chunks in it.
Here's to hoping I have some prettier dishes in the days to come.
Did you get a dutch oven cookbook yet? My cousin got a dutch oven for Christmas and said he had to buy a book, because he kept screwing everything up... might help to hit up the library ;)
ReplyDeleteOoh, thanks for the tip! I am happy to report that the Dutch Oven worked well for Ratatouille, but I do need some help with the meat. At least I am not the only one who has been thwarted by the Dutch Oven. :)
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