My 2011 Food (#Reverb11)

I'm a pretty picky eater, so nothing really stands out as a unique meal when I reflect on the last 12 months. It's a lot easier to access information from my short-term memory, namely, yesterday.

Domestically Challenged
I am not the domestic type. Aside from making grilled cheese sandwiches or cooking hot dogs and macaroni and cheese (from the box), I'm pretty useless in the kitchen; fortunately, I married a man who loves to cook, and he is extremely talented in the kitchen. Phil loves to experiment, and he rarely follows recipes.

Pesto Chicken
Yesterday, I saw a tweet from a friend. He often tells his followers which healthy meal he has prepared for his family (another talented cook). Like my regular eating habits, his dinners have little variation. While I expect his evening tweets, I rarely take notice.
His tweet on Tuesday, however, was worthy of a text to my husband:

• "Basil pesto diced chicken breast cooked with pesto served over whole wheat penne pasta."

Before I could explain that I only sent the text because the meal sounded yummy, my husband said, "I can make this".

Phil's Recipe
Rather than search for a related recipe, he immediately spoke his thoughts of how to make the meal and which ingredients he would need: in addition to the chicken, pesto, and penne, he would "Greece-ify" it by adding feta cheese, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and extra virgin olive oil. But, the one ingredient he forgot to buy was the penne noodles. He would have to use the spaghetti noodles instead, which he told me, ruined the meal. I didn't notice his apparent mistake. The meal was delicious except for too many olives (my opinion). Phil thought so too and promised to make it again, only he insisted he would make it with the whole wheat penne.

Future Food Goals
I realize I need to become better in the kitchen.
The role reversal has worked for us during our 9½ years of marriage; however, my husband has often told me he would love it if I could prepare a meal for him at least once a month. As I no longer work, his request isn't too much to ask, and he does have cookbooks even if he never follows their recipes: he tells me, the me the pictures inspire him to improve on the existing recipe. I can use those recipes, however, to conquer my fear of the kitchen and finally fix Phil a meal that doesn't include macaroni and cheese or a grilled cheese sandwich!
Another goal we have for 2012 is to take Phil's daughter to a Hungarian restaurant. They are both proud of their ethnic heritage, and Phil is eager to try an authentic Hungarian meal.

Though I don't do well in the kitchen, I am a talented eater! Perhaps in 2012, I can achieve somewhat of a better balance of the two.