Ireland

Ireland

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

You know what they say, there is a first time for everything. Yesterday was one of those days for me.

Are you familiar with the blogs where people will post photos of some delicious dish they just made, and throw in the recipe at that end in case you want to try it? I never thought I would be posting photos of a meal a prepared on the boat, and there is good reason for that.

I don't cook. It's not because I'm lazy or have no interest in food, it's because I can't cook. I know, you don't believe me. "Just follow the recipe," I'm sure you're saying to yourself. 
I have done that, and my food is no good. I'm not making this up.

Years ago when my kids were little and my wife was working a day job, I got tired of watching her come home from work only to immediately start cooking dinner. I thought to myself, I should start learning to cook, so I can pitch in. Well, one day I made a black bean soup. It took me all day, the kitchen was a wreck. My nerves were on edge. You would have thought I was trying to split the atom, my concentration was so intense. 
When my wife came home, I served us up spme soup. I can still remember the looks on my kids faces as they tried to eat this disgusting conglomeration without hurting the feelings of dear old dad.
As time went on, we all laughed about just how horrid this dish was. My wife said, "Mark, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I'll do the cooking from here on out." We all laughed.

A few weeks ago when I was home, my wife was heading out to work and she asked if I could put together in a bowl the makings for stuffed shells. She knew it was so easy to just combine a bunch of cheeses, some eggs and a few spices, that even I couldn't screw this up.

When she came home we stuffed the shells together and I thought, this is something I could do for the guys on the boat. I wrote down the recipe and brought it with me.

Yesterday was my big day. I was making dinner for the boys. Let me preface this by saying, in the 39 years I have worked on boats, I have never made anything harder than grill cheese sandwiches, and I only did that about 3 times.

I felt like I was on Top Chef-Gulf of Mexico. 

Look at those cute little devils! Awesome.

I covered the shells with sauce and threw those baby's in the oven. I was like an expectant Father I was so nervous about the outcome.
While they were cooking I threw together a salad, then cut up some french bread, brushed on a oil and garlic concoction and threw them in the oven. The crew, like seagulls facing the wind, hovered about, waiting.
What if I burn them, what if the cheese is cold, what if........

There you go. My first meal. There were no leftovers, so I guess they were pretty good.
I planned on taking a photo of the finished product, but the feeding frenzy that ensued.....well, i was too late.

I think that's a wrap as far as my cooking goes. The pressure is too much.

6 comments:

beth said...

i am so proud of you. seriously i am, because i'm not a cook either. so when i do make something and it actually turns out, i swear i hear the angels singing.

and now i think you need to share this recipe with us :)

Formerly known as Frau said...

Yay! You can cook! They look really good! I use to suck at cooking until I learned to follow recipes and try things. The hard part is thinking what to cook! Happy Halloween!

Sandy said...

Where is the recipe? I might try this out for my wife.

Gary

dcpeg said...

Thanks for a lovely chuckle! You should be very proud of yourself for setting aside your culinary fears to create a real feast for your crew!

And yeah, I'd like the recipe, too!

Bryn said...

Althought I don't exactly remember the black bean soup disaster, I must say, you are the best dipping eggd and toast maker I know. (Not joking!!)

Love you!

-Your favorite daughter :)

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