The Challenge

Life is about challenging yourself, right?  Well, life certainly hands us many challenges, but the most meaningful ones (I believe) are the ones we create for ourselves.  So here is my challenge:

My wedding day was right before the final three months of a graduate degree.  Anyone who has gone through it will likely agree with me that the thesis is the most trying, time-consuming, and difficult part of any master’s program.  My handsome hubby is an amazing man and from day one of married life, he took on all of the household responsibilities while I finished up my degree.  He liked to joke that he was the "Hottest Housewife" around!  (Yes, he has been watching the Real Houswives Shows with me -- NYC is our favorite city!) and my go-to fun when avoiding work!  But now that I am finished with my night classes, exams, and the dreaded thesis, I plan to claim a place in the kitchen.  Really, I am out of excuses -- it's time to learn to cook! 

My mother was a Master of the Microwave and as a result, I have zero experience cooking.  I love her and she is the most amazing mother, but I don't think of food and memories when reflecting on my lovely childhood.  The Hubby has a completely different background (he grew up in an Italian home where food is the center of any and every get together from an impromptu get-together to holiday meals).  

While taking care of me, Hubby did such a phenomenal job that I am worried I won't be able to compete!  Therein lies the challenge!  Cook a new recipe for my hubby at least five days a week, with the hope of impressing him each time!  Add to the challenge -- I have one of the most stressful jobs in America today (in my humble opinion!).

Recently, I saw the movie "Julie & Julia" (and loved it). Yes, I said recently, I told you I have no time!  Now I know there is NO CHANCE that I can start of with that level of cooking, but I did feel inspired!  I plan to focus on Rachael Ray's recipes (I am convinced that she and I would be friends if we knew each other!), and sprinkle in some others to keep it fresh (yes corny food pun, I plan to add in as many as I can) throughout the year!  In my opinion, RR creates recipes for normal people…and 30 minutes is something I can handle during the week.  Anything past that is really pushing it with our really busy lives.

We are training for a half-marathon (our first ever), working (and I'm someone who brings work home each night -- except Fridays, Hubby's rule), and staying involved with each of our very large families and friends.  That last one is practically a full time job itself.

So tonight is my first night.  Attempt #1 to create a fabulous dinner.  

DINNER ONE -- Bowties with Smoked Almond Sauce, Bacon, Lettuce and Tomatoes (RR's recipe) 

August 14th, 2010 (no way was I trying yesterday on a Friday the 13th!!!!)   This recipe was taken from RR’s most recent magazine.

My Completed Dish

Avoiding bad luck or not...

It was a bit of a flop.  Sorry, Rach!  Hubby, the human garbage disposal, insists it was "pretty good" but that can be translated to "pretty bland."  I know, I tasted it myself.  I should also point out that we will eat all attempted recipes, regardless of the final product’s quality.  Despite the fact that I am a bit of a workaholic, it does not pay off monetarily (have you guessed what I do yet? Not telling!), and we cannot afford to have pizzas delivered five nights a week (not that I would mind if we did). 

Looks can be deceiving.  This little number photographed really well and looks pretty yummy.  And overall, it wasn’t awful.  Neither one of us spit anything out discreetly into a napkin.  Another promising move was that we saved leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch.  But upon examination, this was definitely not the fault of the recipe, but the “chef” executing the dish.  I would give my version a 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Problem One, I forgot an ingredient.  If I’m being truthful, I forgot it back at the grocery store, first realizing it in the checkout line.  I already had about 17 items on the conveyor belt and was too lazy to dash back to produce to get it.  Also, I got distracted looking at the Kardashians on the cover of US Weekly (love them).  So no lettuce, which is relatively embarrassing considering that it’s in the title.  RR would have probably made a clever substitution – but I am a novice here people!

But even this beginner knows that lettuce isn’t exactly the most flavorful green in the bunch so where did the flavor go?  I have a couple of theories…

1) I didn’t use “smoky” bacon as the recipe suggested, Hubby picked it out and I forgot to double check his choice (hello, I was trying to find out without paying if Courtney left Scott for good this time)!

2) This one may be really obvious, but I did not use Bowties...I opted for whole wheat pasta instead to make it healthier.  I'm not sure what impact that has on the flavors.

3) I may not have used enough parsley (how big should a “bunch” be?  I am not a good at eye-balling amounts, maybe practice will perfect that!

4) Don’t chefs taste as they go?  I didn’t.  Hmm, maybe will try that for the next one!  Maybe that could make me better at “handfuls” and “dashes”?

Is anyone else out there a Newlywed?  I am a happy one and very lucky, but I can’t help but feel like it’s hard to find “ME” now that I’m a “WE”…can anyone relate? My single friends are no longer interested in spending nights in (I think they think they are on the clock to find Mr. Right, they're not--they're hot!) and my attached friends are far away now that we've moved into our first home.  It's hard to feel like in someways, at 26, I am starting over.  And it’s not like I can go EAT, PRAY, AND LOVE for a year around the world.  After all, I'm a Newlywed with NO TIME--but I can go see the movie!  Looks great – I love Julia Roberts!  Off to convince the Hubby that he does want to see yet another chick flick! :)