Little (and a Big) Ingrate(s)

Last night for dinner, I made Pioneer Woman's mac-n-cheese. I enlisted David to do all the whisking of the butter/flour/milk until it was perfectly thick. We poured in the heaps of shredded cheddar cheese. We salivated together about how delicious it was going to be, for this recipe- like every PW recipe- starts with 2 cups of heavy cream and a stick of butter*. How can it go wrong?

*Not really, but almost.

At the very end, we added the salt and pepper- skipping the dried mustard out of respect for some very delicate palates around here- and THAT was my first mistake.

Not the leaving out the mustard part.

The letting David see how much pepper I put in part. ONE! WHOLE! TEASPOON!

I already had a sense of foreboding, but I cheerfully put the dish in the oven to make it all melty and bubbly. My family WOULD love this dinner. It was macaroni and cheese after all! Only better! See:

It smelled wonderful, yet as I called the kids to the table, their super-detective noses (trained to sniff out anything that doesn't come from a box) were already alerted to a suspicious scent.... could that be a HOMEMADE dinner they smell?

And David was still grumbling about the pepper. And I was all, but it's Pioneer Woman's recipe! With heavy cream*! I tempered an egg for you fuckers. COME ON PEOPLE.

*not really, but almost.

Anyway, Joan ate some of hers, Kate choked down juuuuust enough bites as to not enrage me, and Marin (who brags that mac-n-chz is her FAVORITE... at least from a box) didn't eat a bite. David had seconds, but he'd like everyone to know that if it were up to HIM, he'd do LESS PEPPER.

Are you listening world? Do you hear him, Pioneer Woman? LESS PEPPER PLEASE.

God forbid our food have flavor, folks!

Lesson (re)learned: if I am going to go to any trouble for dinner, invite friends over so that someone else will also enjoy it.

+++++++++++

Hey, remember this:

Well, I've decide that the gloom of this winter-turning-spring is not so bad, as long as there are fresh flowers in the house.

So, I filled those jars:

That's better! It feels like spring*!

*not really, but almost.