Meals that [almost] didn't happen

Last night's dinner was an exercise in problem after problem.

It was time to finish up the last of the holiday roast, and we have a good recipe for Goulash, so perfect...until things started to go wrong. I should add that the recipe was scribbled by a friend and not exactly in user friendly order.

We had enough beef for half a batch and I got busy chopping the beef, onions etc. while Mrs. Jim in Chicago put together the seasoning mixture. First, she forgot that it was half a batch and started dumping in the regular amount, but hadn't gotten very far so we got that sorted. Then I watched her putting the flour that was meant for the final thickening back in the cupboard. I asked "did you use that already" and answered "yes, it said to include the rest of the ingredients". To be fair, the ingredient list wasn't clear about the use of the flour. We were faced with a bowl full of spices with the flour mixed up in it. I just went ahead a dumped it into the pan with a bunch of extra liquid, said a couple Hail Mary's and went ahead.

Then, I managed to walk away with the stove still on high instead of turning it down to simmer. Smelling a funny odor, I took off the lid to find the bottom burned and the mixture already really thick from a combination of the flour and the high heat.

After some debating about whether or not to abandon ship, I carefully scraped off the top part into another pan saying "we'll just pretend we used smoked paprika". I added a bunch more water and set it to simmer again.

The recipe was supposed to simmer for 2.5 hours, but after 90 minutes it was clearly not going to survive any more cooking and was already thickened, so I pulled it and called "dinner's ready".

It was actually OK, if not quite authentic.

chicagojim wrote:After some debating about whether or not to abandon ship, I carefully scraped off the top part into another pan saying "we'll just pretend we used smoked paprika". I added a bunch more water and set it to simmer again.

That was a smart approach to dealing with food burnt on the bottom.

I am from the school where I eat my mistakes. You did well despite all the challenges.

Regards,
Cathy2