July 12, 2006

I've been Suckered

Royally too. I am to repay a lost bet by cooking dinner for an Italian. Not something I fear in the least. On the contrary, given the amount of smack he's been talking about my cooking skills, I'd love nothing more than to provide a meal that leaves him speechless. But. Since making the bet, I've found out that my little Italian Boy works for the Italian School of Cooking, Dublin. He's not a chef, thank god, but still. I've been suckered. So, how can you help, you may be wondering.

Well, now that I know about his dirty little secret, I want to bury him. I want to astound him. I want to leave him wondering if he ever knew what Italian was supposed to taste like. (Yes, I am this competitive. If you don't know that by now, review my family structure: middle child) And here is where you come in, my lovely friends. If I have ever made any Italian dishes for you that you absolutely loved and are still marveling about to this day, let me know what they are. Nothing is too ambitious at this point, save making my own pasta, but only because I don't own a pasta roller-thingy. (pretty sure that's a technical term there) Let me know as soon as you can, exactly what it was I served you. I need to revise my menu drastically before this time next week. I'll let you know what I've decided on and how it went. Unless he laughs and I bludgeon him a wine bottle. :-) Pretty sure that won't happen though. It's wine, come on. What a waste that would be.

Thank you for your support. (does anyone even remember that pitch other than my brother?!)

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bartles & James. How about bagel pizzas? No, wait, that was a SNL spoof of Iron Chef. Come to think of it, you've never cooked for me either....hmm.

-Luke

B said...

Ah, but both of you have cooked for me. Jules with that really wonderful apple pie, and Luke made the first Alfredo sauce I've ever liked.

Still tweaking but how does this sound for an appetizer: grilled asparagus and red peppers on polenta crostini with parmesean and balsamic

Anonymous said...

Oh my lordy lord.
You have my very best wishes on that one.....and, sadly, little else, because my knowledge and skill regarding Italian cooking is almost homeopathically dilute. (Ask me about Greek cooking, and we're laughing).
Oooh. I have one suggestion, though.
Grapes. Frozen. Taken out the freezer, they're like slightly sticky sorbet. Trust me - the best dessert in the world.

B said...

I'll give it a try this week. I've heard of that before but I've never tried it. I still can't wrap my head around it and since I'm no closer to locating Limoncello, I'm back against the wall in the dessert department. Which has never been my strong suit. My mom bakes. I cook. That's the natural order of things.

Anonymous said...

Ok, first.. Bartles and james.. I remember deciding how much I liked beer after trying a Bartles and James for the first time. and i was only 16.
second. you did cook for me. feeling privilaged. you made the manicotti and the chicken stuff. You know the chicken was my favorite, but I don't know if it was itallian. You made other things as well, burgers, stakes, pork chops, coffee and bass wood models. You even tried your hand at chinese (thank you "Eat, Drink, Man, Woman") But as for a gourmet itallian, you're out of luck with me. I don't know any pollo rusotto ala fritti madilli things.
Best of luck in the kitchen!
rich

B said...

Yeah, I went thru the wine cooler thing very quickly too. They suck, let's face it. That alone might have been the only proof of taste I exhibited in high school. That and matching my socks to my shirt. It was the 80's, it's what you did...

Rich, you know my mom is backing you up on the chicken dish but I agree with you when you question it's italian orgins. So that leaves me with a starter as mentioned above and for my pasta course this:

roasted garlic and eggplant ravoli in a rosemary cream sauce.

What say the friends to that?

Anonymous said...

Rosemary garlic stuff sounds great to me!

Mel

And oh yeah, I love frozen grapes!

Anonymous said...

Why don't you surprise him by making something French... Viva la France!
T-Ross

B said...

T-Ross: I've already threatened to make mexican, Norwegian (herring basically) and vegetarian. He seems to be game for anything, which only serves to prove Joe's point: he's not really coming for the food. Still though. Never insult my cooking. That's just wrong...