1. The rules should be modified in two ways.
   1. The cook must eat everything too.
   2. Tree get’s to be the secret ingredient purchaser, on occasion.
2. I think you guys are AWESOME for doing this. It’s just about as cool a family idea as I’ve heard in a while.

Bonus Suggestion:I think you should do this for a party or a poker night, and inflict it on your friends too!.

and, just in case you missed number two – You Both Rock!

This wasn’t all about me saying I’m bored with Teresa’s cooking. If any of you have ever had her cook for you, you know she’s damn good at it. In fact, one of the major elements in building this house was to have that great big kitchen she’s always dreamed about so she could experiment.

But, we’re always so busy, on a schedule, it was always easier to just pour it from the box, heat it up and throw a steak on the grill. So we came up with this little game together. She says Becca is a picky eater but that’s only because Becca only eats what Teresa cooks. And Teresa cooks the same seven ingredients with the same four spices. It’s like Mexican food; you can shift it around all you like but a burrito is nothing but a rolled up taco… or something like that…

After planning to start this at the new year, she finally sets me loose on Thursday. THAT was fun. I just wandered the store looking for things we’ve never tried and boy there were plenty. I’ve got twenty or forty more ingredients waiting for the next few attempts. I wanted them to be unrelated and somewhat a surprise but I also wanted to keep them within the realm of edibility. The first attempt had to be easy enough that we’d want to do this again.

Gnocchi I had seen in a Food Network show. No idea what it tasted like. Bosc Pears just looked different and I figured a fruit would be easy. Galletas Cubanas were just plain and boring enough that she could do ANYTHING with them. The Limburger cheese was a last minute, “Let’s make her work for it”.

I stayed upstairs while she cooked. When she was ready I knew it; there was something… different… about the air…
By the time I hit the stairs I knew, that cheese may have been a mistake. I never had it before but I always see cartoons talk about how stinky it is. They are NOT kidding! After the meal Teresa was going to throw the remainder of the cheese away. I told her to save it, maybe I’ll eat it tomorrow on some crackers during the football game. She opened up the foil and I took a whiff… straight in the trash can and I took the can out to the garage. Seriously, there is no doubt; stale dirty diapers. That’s the only thing I can compare it to and I’m not even joking.

However, to Teresa’s amazing credit, the chicken was delicious! There was enough of a flavor and aroma that I could taste the cheese but I was not overpowered. In fact, I liked it. I’m very glad she decided to ignore the recipe when it called for two slices of cheese and she only put one… I honestly liked it.

The gnocchi picked up the flavor of the bacon just fine and the broccoli and onions were cooked perfectly. I’m not sold on the gnocchi, it’s new to me. A little doughy, like an empty pirogi if it were boiled. Good, but new and unusual…

The pears were great but they didn’t soften up or even heat up very much. But that didn’t ruin the dessert. If you didn’t know it was a pear, it worked great as an apple. Same texture as a delicious crisp apple and the oatmeal/cracker topping tasted great on either of them, pear or apple. It may have been unripe pears or it may have been something she needed to know about that particular kind but that’s what this little game is all about, learning, cooking and trying new things.

So part of the game is grading. I hate to do that because it takes so much for her to step out of her comfort zone. I’d have to give an “A” for effort no matter what she cooked up. But in the spirit of playing along, I’ll give grades and in the spirit of not crushing her ego (or sleeping on the couch) I’ll compromise with a three point scale:
3= Excellent, let’s have that again next week.
2= Glad we tried it, we might try that again some time.
1= Thanks for playing, let’s bury that cheese!

Creativity – 3. For even making the attempt you get points. It wasn’t the same format we always get so it gets points for deviating from the norm. Keep it up!

Presentation – 3. I know how hard it is for you to “mix” your foods. My plate looked like it came from a professional kitchen with the bed of gnocchi/vegetables supporting the bacon wrapped chicken and just enough sauce… The presentation was flawless!

Taste – 2. I liked it. I’m not too crazy about the smell but the food was tasty. The new and unusual flavors were something to get used to but that’s what we’re trying to do here. You probably rate the taste a 1 but look at it objectively: given what you had to work with, you made something that even Becca finished eating. It was good.

Overall – 3. The was a successful first attempt. You made a meal you should be proud of and I was very happy to try something new.

Looking forward to the next basket, I’ve got some ideas for you…

But, I avoid the cigars, because I don’t actually like them anymore.

I understand the mentality of disbelief though, they can’t do that, so they can’t believe anyone else does. Many human interactions follow that path.

http://youtu.be/5uXCvbIcg58