Solutions for When Your Lunch Disappoints You
My lunch was kind of bad. The chicken and pureed beans and cheese part of it? Yum. The enchilada sauce part of it? Not so hot. I experimented a bit with the traditional recipe my mother gave me and the enchilada gods were far from kind. Enraged is a better word for it. I overdid it on the garlic and the sauce, even when it’s heated up, is kind of . . . gummy. That is not good when you are going for a tasty burrito. A burrito should not be garlic-y; my Mexican ancestors were probably shrieking with horror at the amount of garlic that I put into the sauce, even more so when they saw that I decided to forgo the softening of said garlic while I was boiling the chiles. I did it because I wanted a stronger garlic flavor, but not the dominant garlic flavor that I got (we usually have to add garlic powder after the fact). The enchilada gods were quick to remind me that while mixing a Mexican and an Italian in marriage appears to be a great idea, mixing the principle ingredients of one culinary tradition with another doesn’t always work. Mexican and Italian foods? Do not go well together. That goes double for such nasty fare as:
- Mexican Pizza
and
- Something people call a “taco bake” (which is faux Mexican plus faux Italian plus genuine Midwestern casserole nastiness)
And let’s not even mention my apple since its flesh was a sickly brown color, adding to my lunch unhappiness. Ugh.
What’s a woman with a poor lunch to do? Hunt for baked goods, of course. I’m sure that will be quite tasty. Now to decide what to get:
- Snickerdoodle cookie from Noodles & Company
- Cinnamon pretzel from Auntie Anne’s Pretzels
- Cupcake from Starbucks
- Mini sugar cookies from a local sandwich place
Hmm . . .
Oh, that sucks. I’m sorry it didn’t work out. Who ever would have guessed that not boiling the garlic would have had such a huge effect on the consistency of the sauce?
Maybe the next step would be to drastically increase the amount of garlic but boil it along with the peppers again. (Or just resign ourselves to adding garlic powder at the end.) Adding the few arbols seemed to make a difference to the spiciness, right?
As an Italian still getting to know Mexican food, I still marvel that you guys can produce these red sauces without tomatos. (Remember when I asked my mom what was in the sauce?)
I’m kind of surprised; I figured we’d get a stronger taste, but I had no idea it would turn it into a solid when cooled or make it gummy even when heated. As for spiciness, I actually didn’t notice a difference. I noticed it when I was making it, but not today.
We need to go to my parents’ just to get a tutorial on all the kinds of sauces we’re not making right now. :) And you need to teach me how to make some more Italian food. What happens if I want to make the clam sauce or Chicken Marsala for any kids we may have and you’re away on business?
Maybe the garlic swamped the additional spiciness? It seemed very garlic-y, especially when you reheated it.
I think a tutorial on sauces and peppers from your parents would be very useful. Part of the problem with this latest experiment was that we tried to tweak two variables (spiciness and garliciness) simultaneously. Not that we wouldn’t have had the garlic disaster even without the arbols, but it’s harder to separate out the effects.
Most of the Italian food I make is very simple – watch me once or twice and you’ll have it down.