Thrill of Victory & Agony of Defeat

I had a culinary epiphany this week: when I try out something new, if it's an entree or side, it will turn out pretty well; if it's dessert, I'm sunk.

Once a month, the women's ministry at our new church has an evening gathering planned on a theme (each person brings chili one month, or hors d'oeuvres the next). This past week, the theme was dessert. I chose to do something I NEVER do: make something I've never made before - for strangers. This goes against my code; why make something new for guests when it could flop? Then you're left with egg on your face while eating pizza. When I cook, I feel like a magnet for Murphy's law.

For this dessert night, I determined to be Original and not bring cake, pie, cheesecake, brownies, or the usual array. Instead, I turned to the culinary bible of my family: The Yellow Cookbook. This cannot be found in any stores. It has no ISBN number. It is as old as my husband. It is the 1980 East White Oak "Credible Edibles" cookbook with a now-shabby cover, containing recipes from the women of the church at that time. My mother, all my aunts, and both grandmothers have this book. One aunt finally accepted the degredation of time and food spillage; she took the book apart and put each page in a sheet protector, and put all those in a sturdy binder. I received my coveted copy when my paternal grandmother moved into an assisted living apartment, and she didn't have to cook her meals anymore.

The dessert I decided to make was taken from this book, and I picked a recipe that I have tasted before ... because it was submitted for the cookbook by my other grandma. It's called "Under the Red Sea" jello; the bottom layer is made with lime jello, cool whip, cream cheese, and some other ingredients, while the top layer is simple red jello.

It turned out to be a semi-disaster, as you have probably inferred. It ended up looking quite terrible because I poured the red jello on top too soon (though it still TASTED great). So I didn't take it along but instead whipped up some instant chocolate pudding with cool whip and a garnish of chocolate chips, attending the dessert night in mourning.

However, the week was not a total culinary loss. One night I turned to my trusty friend, Betty Crocker, who wrote Cook It Quick! for people just like me, whose culinary library also contains Cook Your Meals The Lazy Way (which, when I first read it a few years ago, brought disappointment - you actually still have to COOK?). I made Lemon-Dill Chicken, and it was pretty good. (Yes, I DID actually take this picture with my manual camera. And note to Gail: I used dried dill weed, not fresh!) Here is the recipe:

Lemon-Dill Chicken (6 servings)
(Note: I only used 3 chicken breasts, but still made the same amount of sauce.)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) margarine or butter
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1/2 cup dry white wine or chicken broth (I used the wine)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 medium green onion, sliced

1. Melt margarine in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken in margarine about 6 minutes, turning once, until light brown.

2. Mix wine, dill weed, lemon juice and salt; pour over chicken. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until juice of chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut. Remove chicken from skillet; keep warm.

3. Meanwhile, heat wine mixture to boiling. Boil about 3 minutes or until reduced to about half; pour over chicken. Sprinkle with onion.

1 serving: Calories 200; Fat 11g; Cholesterol 60 mg; Sodium 240mg; Carbohydrate 1g (Dietary Fiber 0g); Protein 24g