After last night's dinner, I began to wonder why my mother didn't just serve us macaroni and cheese every single evening.
My new recipe was for meatballs. I've made them before, but this was a recipe out of my mom's tattern, torn, over-used cookbook. I don't know what the name of it is - the lettering wore off the gold cover years ago. But everything I've ever tried out of there has been fantastic. So I thought I'd try the meatballs.
They turned out okay. I wouldn't rate them fantastic; the flavor was wonderful, but the texture left something to be desired. Meatballs should not have the same consistency as pate.
Anyway, I made meatballs. And spaghetti. And peas. And garlic toast under the broiler. By the time all the food was done, I had used more pots and dishes than a Thanksgiving dinner, and was sweating more than I would during the first half of a soccer game.
All this effort...to watch The Senator eat a spoonful of peas and slurp spaghetti noodles one by one. The Governor ate a couple of meatballs and his peas, although I'm not sure how many actually went in his mouth because there sure were a lot of peas on the floor.
It wouldn't have been so awful if The VP had been home. He would have eaten. And helped with the dishes. I was washing dishes for over an hour, and that's with the dishwasher working away on a full load as well.
How did my mother do this every night? Maybe not every night, but a lot of nights. She had four kids, a small kitchen, and no dishwasher. Well, she did have us kids to help with clean-up, but as I recall, we were not very gracious about helping. We didn't volunteer; we were drafted.
So last night after the final pot was scoured, I sat on the front porch wishing I had a stiff drink. And if I was Ross, it would have been a martini, and I would have dedicated it to my mom. Thanks, Mom, for all the years of well-balanced, delicious meals you put on the table night after night.
I'm not sure what we're having for dinner tonight. But if it can't be fixed in ONE pan...we're not eating it.
I've got a decent recipe for New Orleans style Red Beans and Rice (okay, two pots needed). The downside is the three hours it takes to cook, plus it needs to be checked about every thirty minutes.
Posted by: aelfheld at September 15, 2004 08:32 PMIf you would be so kind...I'd love to see the recipe. Time is usually not as big an issue; I can handle the 30 minute checks. My folks love New Orleans style food; it would be a treat to have it when they're visiting some time.
Posted by: Cathy at September 15, 2004 08:36 PMWell, at least I helped Mom out. After all, I was the one who pointed her in the direction of the dish soap you hid behind the washing machine.
Posted by: Sis at September 15, 2004 09:10 PMI try to wash some of the dishes while the food is cooking, but that may not work for you since you have little ones running around. BTW, we weren't a volunteer staff either!
Posted by: yayaempress at September 16, 2004 10:48 AMDon't know your recipe, but the key to good texture in meatballs is to handle the meat as little as possible when mixing in ingredients and forming the balls. Be gentle.
Posted by: mal at September 16, 2004 09:34 PMMal - thanks for the tip. I use my hand to mix everything together. Wonder if that's part of the problem.
I was going to blame it on the bread in the mixture. The recipe said to take 4 slices of dry bread, soak them in water for 2-3 mintues, wring it out and add to other ingredients. It was a mess. Not very appetizing.
Posted by: Cathy at September 17, 2004 03:15 PM