While some dread family functions, I love them. My family is the always forgiving bunch who no matter how bad the meal, they will always return. They are also the group you can count of to try something knowing, its an experiment.
It didn't take long, in our household, to know when mom made 'stir fry' it was the last bits of veggies in the crisper, served with rice and soy sauce. Often it worked, occasionally it was disaster! Dad was always the last to try it, closely monitoring our faces to determine whether it was edible or not. But we all still tried it, critiqued, and sometimes...gave it to the dog and poured ourselves a bowl of cereal. Mom never got upset. She was just happy we were fed.
Yesterday, I wanted to break away from the standard family-meal staples: ham or turkey, green bean casserole, potato salad (even though I LOVE grandma's!), relish tray, etc...I love all of those items, but I felt as though we are in a food-rut! So I offered some of my culinary...tastes to the table. And I also developed a little empathy for my mom's 'stir fry'.
I decided to make a salad, cheesy broccoli rice casserole and poached pears. I was most excited about the pears. They were an item I knew everyone would love, but it was just different enough to spice up the meal a little! What I didnt expect was my utter failure with a seemingly simple casserole.
Now, I acknowledge that Im a self-taught cook. I also acknowledge Im a bit of a bone-head and have a LOT to learn...which is how I learned the massive difference between sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk.
As I'm working on the casserole, I have the main components in the saute pan, the rice steaming and its time to add the milk. I open the can and the consistency of the milk is quite thick. It didn't seem right and the recipe called for the entire can...that seemed weird too. So I added 1/2 the can and figured if the mixture was coming out too thick I could just add some regular milk. Mixing it together I did believe it was rather thick so I added some 2% milk, but not much. After all the cheese had melted and the texture seemed right, I poured the mixture over the rice and placed the dish in the oven to bake.
Not all of the mixture would fit in my 8" dish, so I had some sitting out. When I have watched cooking shows in the past they always say to taste your food as you work. This is a fault of mine. I like the 'voila!' moment that (ok, doesn't always) happen when a dish is finished and you try it for the first time. But to listen to those wiser, I tasted the cheesy mixture.
'Voila!' was not quite the reaction I had. I believe my internal dialogue when something like, 'Holy crap! This is SWEET!' What am I going to do now! I proceeded to try the mixture a few times. Trying to figure out if I could redo it, fix it, or if my family would even eat it.
My sister came over and I made her try it. Yup, her face only mimicked what I can imagine was my reaction. She told me to scrap it. I decided to take it. If nothing else, it will be the cause of a good laugh! And food it meant to gain reaction-if the reaction is laughter, so be it!
To my surprise everyone (there are 9) tried the casserole. Grandma was the first to offer the suggestion of adding salt to cut the sweetness out. I tried it, it did help. But no one really laughed. I was waiting for the jokes, but everyone actually seemed to like it! Those who took home leftovers even took some! I couldn't believe it!
While my pride was invested in the pears (which went over famously), it wasn't lost on the casserole. And while I'm not sure that the jokes aren't coming still, for the day, they where kept at bay.
I doubt the sweet cheesy broccoli rice casserole will make another appearance at the table, but rest assured, I now know the difference between evaporated and sweetened condensed milk!
