Failed.
Really! It failed. My pasta was overcooked, my steak was well done, the veggies looked burnt and the vanilla ice cream for my brownies melted even before I got to serve them.
Maybe it served me right.. that I failed. Given that the only preparation I did in cooking dinner for my family involved watching Gordon Ramsey shout at his amateur chefs in his Hell's Kitchen episodes. It was amusing really. And though this is a lame attempt for an excuse, I picked up a couple of valuable things in all this "preparation." I learned that #1) I shouldn't, even if my life depended on it, cook scallops. Or fish. Any fish. All that "COME HERE YOU!!! IT'S RAAAAAAW!!!" screams from Gordon Ramsey still ringing in my ears made sure that I stay as far away from fish as possible, and #2) unlike in Hell's Kitchen, even if I fail, I’m sure I will never be voted out of my family. Ha-ha.
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| this is me, checking out recipes online. |
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| first order of the day: baking! |
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I started cooking at 1PM. I prepared everything myself. I baked the brownies. I cut the vegetables. I seasoned the steak. I cooked the bacon for the pasta. I wrapped the bacon onto the asparagus. Everything. My mom, (thank God for her!!!) was on the floor making sure I did things right.. She instructed, coached, and panicked all throughout the "dinner service." I mean, a lot was riding on her too. I was using HER kitchen, HER cooking stuff and all HER stocked ingredients which I forgot to buy for myself. I think she was giving me a hand not only to make sure that I will feed my family edible food, but also to make sure I didn’t f*ck her kitchen up.
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| all alone in the kitchen! |
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| wrapping the asparagus with bacon... |
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| ..to finish a bowl of it. |
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| veggies before they got burnt |
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| mixing the carbonara sauce onto the pasta |
When my dinner guests started to arrive, I was still cooking my steak, and mixing the Carbonara sauce with in my pasta, and I was bringing out food on the table, and trying to dodge my sister from stealing more pasta from my serving dish.. All those at the same time, believe it or not. They checked on me in the kitchen and seeing that I was all over the place, let me have all the time I needed to finish cooking.
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| cramming! |
And finally, at 8:15PM, my dishes were ready.
I was relieved when they praised the first dish served to them: Asparagus wrapped in Deep Fried Bacon. goody! :) But as soon as they started to eat the Pasta Carbonara, I knew that a thousand things were wrong. You know how people would smile politely at you even if something pains them? I got that. I almost lost my composure! Ok, I politely listened to the critiques, defended myself for awhile but gave up explaining cause I knew they were right. I really did overcook the pasta. It was really starchy! And I felt bad for my family cause I knew how they were only forcing themselves to finish the servings. I felt bad but it was funny! The look on their faces.. Trying to be polite and all.. Hahaha! The steak had the same fate. It was well-done. Like really really well-done. I wished so bad that my other brother Rain were there, as I knew he wouldn't mind the way I cooked it and just enjoy the steak as it is.
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| deep fried asparagus in bacon |
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| mixed vegetables cooked in butter |
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| pasta carbonara |
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| steak |
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| brownies |
In summary, my family was unanimous in giving me their review:
Asparagus wrapped in Deep Fried Bacon: Very good!
Bacon-filled Pasta Carbonara (Pangan recipe): Good sauce, but very starchy pasta brought about by overcooking it
T-bone steak: Well-done. Very well-done. Hard to slice, hard to chew. I commend my kuya for finishing his serving. Thank you kuys.
Mixed vegetables cooked in butter: Doesn’t look very appetizing because of the burnt appearance, but good taste once you get past looking at it.
Brownies with vanilla ice cream topped with Kitkat: Brownies were ok, but the vanilla ice cream almost had the texture of yoghurt!
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| my family.. minus Rain. Boo!!! =( |
Gordon Ramsey would've thrown me out of his kitchen if this were real. Good thing I had a kind-hearted master chef of a mom who just shook her head in desperation for all my cooking mishaps.
All in all, I give myself C for my dinner. But A for effort. I shouldn't have cooked those big dishes during my first time.. But no, I don’t regret my menu. I still say, go big or go home!
Though maybe I will just stick with frying Vienna Sausage next time.
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| my 5-course dinner meal |
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When: January 15, 2012
Where: Pangan Residence
Menu:
- Asparagus wrapped in Deep Fried Bacon
- Bacon-filled Pasta Carbonara (Pangan recipe)
- T-bone steak
- Mixed vegetables cooked in butter
- Brownies with vanilla ice cream topped with Kitkat
1 comment:
haha ang cute! oh pam, it's ok... first time to cook after all! pero hindi ba fun to be in the kitchen? :P
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