Gastronomic Catastrophe!

It has been years since we have regularly eaten a Sunday dinner at lunchtime.  When my husband became Churchwarden the first time around, we discovered that by the time we got home from church we just wanted to eat, not wait while food cooked. From then on cheese sandwiches became our standard Sunday lunch, as I was rarely sufficiently organised to put dinner on before we went.

Fast forward twenty odd years, to my husband's third stint as Churchwarden. We noted that it was often 9:30pm before we ate our main meal on a Sunday, so in recent weeks Sunday dinner at lunchtime has been reinstated.





I am not keen on cooking.  It bores me. I end up cooking the same thing every day, mainly through lack of inspiration - baked potatoes (less washing up) and chicken (you can never eat too much chicken!) However, since retiring, DH, who rarely cooked when he was working, has become much more proactive in the kitchen. This Sunday, however, I decided to cook...

I remembered to put the KHT's fishcake in the oven. However, I never remember to use timers or make a note of what time I start cooking, so I usually make judgements on colour and temperature, rather than time. DH is the exact opposite - time is up, it's coming out, ready or not!

I decided to cook Dauphinois Potatoes. The potatoes were peeled and parboiled. For some bizarre reason, instead of just adding milk, cheese and a bit of flavouring, I made a roux sauce, poured it over the spuds and bunged it in the oven. As it was cooking delectable odours wafted from the oven, tantalising our nostrils.
Was it a success? Think potatoes in white glue, with cheese on top...

The chicken was lightly sauteed, with mustard, courgettes and tomatoes - did I ever tell you that I LOVE fried chicken.  However, in order to ensure the chicken was thoroughly cooked, I left the lid on. The consequences of this were that the courgettes felt sorry for themselves and went all limp and lifeless. Near the end, I remembered the wine and chucked in a good measure.
Was it a success?  Think chicken soaked in vinegar, with an overdose of mustard. Apparently, two spoonfuls of wholegrain mustard is one too many...

On the positive side the sprouts, beans and carrots were absolutely fine, except when DH prepared the green beans, he accidentally chucked in the carrot peelings, which I had left on one corner of the chopping board... They just needed fishing out prior to serving.  Yes, I know I was supposed to be doing the cooking, but I coerced DH into chopping the Green Beans, as he always buys ones with ends on.

Meal verdict - disaster. Give the woman a sad face sticker!

Moving on to Monday and husband is back at the chopping board, eager to avoid a repeat of yesterdays gastronomic catastrophe. I must admit I had my reservations about this evening's delight. Mince is rarely one of my favourite dishes, but black pepper and fresh tomatoes combined to create a very tasty meal. Admittedly sprouts are an unconventional ingredient to incorporate into bolognese, but they tasted fine to me! I have to admit the dinner was very enjoyable.

Meal verdict - Success! Give the man a smiley face sticker!


Somehow, I do not think that my husband is going to be encouraging me to increase the amount of cooking I do in the immediate future... Just one question remains - should I be pleased?