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Tonight is a meal night. While I think I am doing a bit better today, I did need rest. I had it. I used the AC right around midday for a bit. Along with the fans it kept me from slowly cooking. I may actually need to run it just a bit again. The afternoons can... do some sort of reheating trick. Medicines are going down easily, well, and regularly. I couldn't do much today, but I will get to town tomorrow. Oh, and I best water my plants.
I made dinner, but it was just rehydrated beef stroganoff. I was just having a bite when... I thought I heard the phone. They had tried to call several times. It was just in the other room. But the way the fans were set I simply couldn't hear it until that point. When I heard that dinner was on the way I just set the other stuff aside. Glad I did, too. Tuna mac casserole? I don't make that. For two very good reasons. One, I am too impatient. Two, I never get casseroles right. Most people don't. Mush. Not this. I do not think I have tasted al dente tuna mac casserole, until tonight. I mean perfect. I love the stuff, when done right, and it was. On top of that? Fresh spinach out of the garden just today! I do feel spoiled. I don't brag every night, because I think that might seem rude. But I eat quite well.
I may try to tinker in the bathroom yet tonight, just changing the valves. But that will pretty much be it. My hope is to get to bed by midnight, or 1:00, earlier if at all possible. Then wake around 8:00 to 9:00, at the latest. That will be pushing back my schedule. It is possible, just not probable. In any case, tomorrow I need to get to town, buy some things, and get my friend out. He has some shopping, it seems, to be done. We can do that. Plus... I think he gets to feeling cooped up. I'll get him out. I need and want to get out too.
Yeah, not much... but... It could be much worse. Later.
I'm curious. How would you define a perfect casserole? The reason I ask is because, over the years, I've found myself making more and more casseroles and, with some exceptions, I feel they turned out rather nicely.
ReplyDeletePerfect casserole? Let me throw in the qualifiers. First, the pasta has to be very close to al dente. Mushy is what I usually encounter. I think smaller children prefer that, or mothers think so, or perhaps they prefer it. Mothers... often... both fib (can't cook right, so just say it's preferred) and transfer -they like it so they assume (not really, always, but they are the cook, so...) everyone else likes it. Next, there has to be a solid flavor. Bland pasta is bland pasta. Bullion cubes aren't a good flavor. They can add to the flavor, but shouldn't be the whole, or even majority. Chemical or artificial flavors... don't work. A natural mushroom, or beef, or chicken, or even mix of those, flavor needs to be there, or seem to be there. I don't mind tricks, use them myself with what I have on hand. But try to make it "look" good. Add in some creaminess, from whatever method. That is also an aspect of the texture. The next is texture, but texture must be two-fold. The creaminess underneath, as expressed above, with flavor, and then a bit of crackle on top. Sort of like a pie, only not quite that extreme... more like a crisp than a pie, actually.
ReplyDeleteNow, add a cheese for extra points. If it is a soft cheese, then it needs to be at least partially melted into the crust, with some of the top bits browned. Or, if adding a dry cheese, then it needs to be partially crisped, as was the case with the casserole that I received. Perfect! I can't do that, so... as I said, I stay away.
Okay, I see some of our differences here. To me a casserole doesn't necessarily involve rice or pasta. It can be something like enchiladas or Frito Pie.
ReplyDeleteAnd I also like a bit of crispiness on my casserole tops.
Well, no, that's not a difference so much as an oversight, or more of a focus on the type I ate. I do get enchilada casseroles, too. And some other things like that. I was just speaking about this particular type.
ReplyDeleteFor me, to make it clear, a casserole is a baked (though I suppose it could be put on a grill or in a smoker), single dish meal. But a dish, such as a crockpot roast with all the veggies cooked in it is not a casserole. I suppose it all has to, sort of, be able to be served altogether. Oh, sure, sometimes there are sides. But, when I make it, it is to create a one dish meal. That is a casserole. Mostly.
But each has their own ideal, to me. But for a pasta and meat casserole, the one I had was perfect.