You know, we’d all love to change the world, but Ben and I think small when it comes to self-improvement. I think small because personal experience has taught me that saying I’m going to do something on January 1st usually results in my doing exactly the opposite that year. I guess it’s reverse psychology that I see coming a mile away, because, you know, I’m the one using it. Ben, on the other hand, simply sees no need for self-improvement.
This week’s cooking adventures left loads of room for improvement. We had Sophia, Jake, and his parents over for dinner, and I made a dish I was well familiar with, but wasn’t able to get the regular cut of beef I usually use, so it turned out tough and dry. Our guests were gracious, but it was, as Ben would say, “embarrassing.”
The next day, I resolved to find some new iteration to use up all that dry, tough leftover beef, so I tried integrating it with its sauce using the hand blender for use as a “meat sauce” in a lasagna. This proved to be no small task. The theory was fine, but as Ben cheerfully noted when helping me make the lasagna, “It looks like throw up!” Some of the those hunks of meat so steadfastly rejected integration that Ben even mistook one of the pieces for a bone! Sliced provolone had to stand in for the moldy mozzarella I found in the fridge. Phil had to make a Wegman’s run for more cheese.
This lasagna faced so many obstacles that probably most of you would have abandoned ship. Not us. Believe it or not, when the last piece of beef was shredded into submission and the mozzarella reinforcements arrived just in time to get bubbly under the broiler, the end result was pretty good!
Obviously, I will not be posting a recipe for resolution lasagna because it cannot, nor should it under any circumstances be replicated. If you came here today seeking New Year’s resolution tips, you are similarly out of luck. You’re fine! You don’t need to make any resolutions, big or small. Like us, we know you do your best every day. Just keep showing up.
If you’re lucky, there will be tiramisu! Happy New Year!