Week 1: September 4th, 2008

So this is actually a retroactive post, being that Scott just now started our blog, and we are already one meal down and counting. Nonetheless, since Scott is waiting for this week's potatoes to sizzle (one of the many cryptic directions of this week's recipes) I thought I would catch up on our description of last week's repast.

Week 1.

Menu

Swiss Steak

Steamed Rice

Peach & Raspberry Cobbler

Liz: Not wanting to be overambitious (not us) we picked the first recipes from Paula Deen (Swiss steak), our own repertoire (rice in the rice cooker), and Classic Home Desserts (Peach and Raspberry Cobbler). Now anyone who knows us will not be surprised to learn that Scott made the rice and the dessert, and I made the Swiss steak. Scott does not, categorically, deal with raw poultry, beef, or a variety of other items that he deems to be "a nasty mess". He also does not deal with large insects in the home- but that is probably a story best saved for when we are not discussing food.

Scott: Liz is being dramatic about the raw meat! I just prefer that if someone else is around they get to do the nasty stuff....and they almost always fall victim to my powers of persuasion! Of course there is a negative side to this which usually means that I get stuck with the recipes that have 50,000 steps to them! In this case it was the cobbler, which required "made from scratch" biscuits for the topping.

Liz - Anyway- the rice was lovely, and the cobbler, which turned out to be nectarines and blueberries because the raspberries and peaches available at our favorite Kroger were less than optimal, was SPECTACULAR. We cannot recommend the cobbler- any and all parts of it- highly enough. We ate the nectarines on their own, the sauce on its own, the nectarines in the sauce...you get the idea. It is a wonder we were able to eat anything at all by the time the dinner was actually assembled. The Swiss steak was very good too. I refrained from wrapping the beef in wax paper and pounding it on the floor like I usually do, and I probably should have pounded it, because it was a little tough. Despite that, the sauce that accompanied the steak was GREAT. Very stew like, what with the tomatoes and onions and all. One important note- we substituted celery for green peppers. It was an important substitution- green peppers, as everyone knows, are a nasty mess.

Scott - Everything was great! The biggest lesson I learned is that you have to have something to snack on! During the prep of this meal...it was processed cheese spread and ritz crackers! And to share another lesson learned.....you have to watch Liz in the kitchen! If you turn away even for a second she tries to sneak "suprise" ingredients into the recipes!