Don’t Try This At Home, Folks

Posted on January 23, 2008

I mentioned it earlier this week, but I really need to tell you about the horrid tilapia I whipped up last week. Like totally yuck. *Splat!*

The whole concept began with the best of intentions. It really sounded like a brilliant idea. I would juice one and a half blood oranges and make a light and tasty marinade to go with the tilapia I had defrosted. Then, I would garnish the dish with bits of the other half of the second blood orange. How could I go wrong? It was just a simple sauce after all.

It. Was. Awful.

It looked like the dish I had planned. But the taste? Eh, not so much.The blood oranges had a flavor reminiscent of lemons, not the light and sweet flavor I had hoped for. Where was the delicious flavor I had read about and envisioned? Where was the dish I’d imagined? I’ll tell you were it wasn’t — on my plate. Will and I both ate about half of our portions. The dish just didn’t work.

I wish I could say that every fleeting thought that I have for a recipe results in a great meal. But the truth is that doesn’t happen – to anybody. Everyone has cooking disasters. And when you cook like I do – experimenting more often than not – you run the risk of having disasters more often.

Fortunately, I am usually pretty good at pairing flavors. When you think about what works together, that can be pretty easy. Rosemary with garlic. Basil with tomatoes . . . or garlic or both.

In any case, this week I am sticking with safer dishes. I can’t take another upset like that. At least not for a few weeks.

So, spill. What kind of cooking disasters have you had lately?