Sept.
15, 2014
A surprise dinner invitation is wonderful
although the outcome can led to some trepidation.
Depending
on the hosts’ culinary skills, you can either leave belching from satisfaction
or belching due to a bad taste in your mouth
Let’s agree on something from the start. A
person has to think a lot of themselves to open their home to casual or a close
group of friends. Not to mention, they
have to have a strong sense of themselves – bordering on rabid egotism (like a
chef) -- if they decide to prepare a meal because the line between cooking success
and failure is as thin as a guitar string.
Too many things can go wrong once the
thought of spending a pleasant evening with friends and family gives way to
kitchen reality, especially if the host decides to cook something complicated.
Food allergies, undercooked meal, overcooked
meal, terrible wine paring, hard to please guests and folks who don’t eat meat or sweets are a few
of the factors that can turn a dinner
party into a bloody Sons of Anarchy episode.
I know you get
the picture.
Therefore, I normally have a healthy
sense of caution when I accept a dinner invitation and honestly that is how I
felt heading to Moss Bluff, Louisiana to eat at my friends home.
Daila Matheus and her husband opened their
home to a small group of us.
My nerves weren’t on edge because I had
any problems with the couple. No, this was a matter of eating. This was the
first time I was going to sit at their table. Cooking ability was at question.
Matheus is from Venezuela. When she made
her invitation, I must admit, thoughts of sancocho – a root
vegetable and meat infused stew or soup -- titillated my taste buds. Sancocho
is a dish readily prepared by South American cooks.
Matheus tipped us off that paella – a wonderful
saffron infused rice dish that originates from Valencia, Spain – was the main
attraction.
“I learned how to make this dish from
someone in Wyoming,” Matheus admitted.
Huh?
Ok, she is from a South American country
where the Spanish had some influence. Yet, paella is from the European
continent. I know Spanish residents who take pride in the dish and aren’t into
off the wall kitchen interpretations.
This was a dinner that could have gone
wrong at any moment because due to the cook's lack of homegrown expertise.
Matheus laid it on the line and here are the results.
Well, after filling my plate three times
and eating dessert, survey says: the lady can cook.
Matheus and her husband are also expert
hosts.
I’d be content to sit on their front porch
and happily await whatever creations and aromas come out of their kitchen.
I know belches of pleasure will follow
dinner.
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| Matheus' paella filled with seafood, vegetables, meat and rice. |
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| Matheus twisting and turning the delicious ingredients that went into the paella. |
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| Matheus with a few of her dinner guests who made sure they enjoyed wine with the paella. |
