So last night I finally made a recipe I have had my eyes on for a while- a lightened up creamy cajun shrimp pasta from the ELR blog.
Even though it is “lightened up”, it is still relatively heavy since it uses cream and regular pasta. I prefer to save heavy comforting meals for Sunday because I just feel that Sunday nights are about relaxing and savoring the last bits of the weekend. So, I figured last night was the perfect time to try what I imagined to be a luscious, decadent, flavorful pasta dish.
Boy was I wrong. This dish was a huge disappointment. The sauce was extremely thin and the recipe lacked flavor. I couldn’t even taste the cream in the dish, and if I am adding almost 50% saturated fat to a meal, it better provide flavor! I almost never cook with cream so I was looking forward to an indulgence with this meal. The only thing I kept thinking about was all of the other, better meals I could be eating. I kept imagining a big plate of fettuccini alfredo, penne alla vodka, or my chicken in a pastry (recipe to come). Isn’t that the worst? When you are just so excited for a meal you have been wanting to try and it is a total dud!?
Now, here’s the kicker. What actually saved this meal were the roasted veggies I made. Although these are some pretty tasty veggies, what does it say when the side dish (vegetables none the less) is the star of the show? My point exactly. Either way, I made roasted potatoes, carrots, and brussel sprouts coated lightly in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and sprinkled with some fresh rosemary. They turned out fantastic- flavorful, tender, and slightly crisp on the outside. The only mild disappointment here was that the fresh rosemary added slightly less flavor than I thought it would. Perhaps I will add more next time around.
And so is another day in the kitchen. Even though the cajun pasta was a disappointment, I am still glad that I tried it. Not every dish can be a winner, and now there is more room in my recipe binder for other things. On to the next!
Im curious, since this was my first time roasting vegetables, what is your favorite combination/method of roasting veggies?
Bite Sized 