C — Making sure I taste things before I serve has been an issue for a while.
My dad would yell at me for never tasting anything, and then serving it for dinner when I was learning how to cook. My mom would tell me to taste everything, so if we had guests coming it would not embarrass me. My grandmother would tell me to pretend I was serving royalty and, if I didn’t taste it, it would be “off with my head.” Well, I think the last one made the strongest impact.
I always thought that following the recipe to a “T” would be the right thing to do. But, if you’ve tried out my recipes, you might see that I change things up from the original to make sure it tastes good and is balanced. I think I taste the recipes almost every step of the way.
I learned my lesson that having flavors not balance at serving time can lead to people not eating it. Or, the whole dish left for me to eat while they eat fried eggs with rice. (It’s an Asian thing. Fried eggs with rice and soy sauce is always in the house and it’s always the fall back plan.) Or, there would be a whole lot of leftovers the next day, and me crying in the corner because I made a horrible dish. Talk about crying over spilled milk.
There’s also patience to factor in. If the recipe calls for you to marinate something for two hours before serving to let all the ingredients combine well, do it. Then taste it. I have tasted things before the flavors marinate and after, and the after was a HUGE difference.
Well, this recipe had that issue. I made the recipe and tasted it before I put it away to marinate for two hours. It was the most disgusting thing I ever tasted. I thought it was going to be a lost cause. The mustard was so overpowering, I didn’t know what to do. I should have waited. I wanted to toss it out then and there. But, I waited and did the taste test after it marinated. It was the best tasting marinated ever. It was super balanced. I couldn’t taste the mustard at all. I think I just added a bit more salt and that was it. I guess this patience is a virtue thing has something to do with it.
Oh, another thing. If you taste something and followed the recipe to a “T” and it still doesn’t taste right, add stuff until it does. Just don’t over do it. It’s easy to add, but you can’t subtract in recipes.
| Veggie Kabobs |
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ cup lemon or lime juice
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 medium red or white potatoes
- 1 cup red, yellow or green bell pepper chunks
- 1 cup pineapple chunks
- 1 cup red onion chunks
- 1 cup white button mushrooms
- 1 cup zucchini or yellow squash chunks
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- Wooden skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes
- Whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl. The marinade can be prepared in advance and held covered in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
- Cook potatoes in salted water until fork tender; let cool and cut into 1-inch chunks.
- Place potatoes and the vegetables in a shallow dish or container. Pour marinade over vegetables. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Preheat an outdoor grill to medium heat.
- Remove vegetables from the marinade, reserving marinade. Thread vegetables onto skewers, alternating colors.
- Cook skewers on grill until vegetables are lightly charred all over, about 10 minutes, basting with reserved marinade and turning occasionally.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bbq-with-bobby-flay/veggie-kabobs-with-herb-and-garlic-marinade-recipe/index.html