Coming To A Dinner Table Near You!

Grocery shopping is my household duty.  I have gladly taken it on not because I love to shop, which I don't, but because I love the whole planning your meals for the week deal.  Hmmm, what sounds good this week.  Do I have a lot of time to create a dish from scratch or do I need fast cooking and pre-packaged?  Usually it's a little of both.  This weekend, I was meandering around the frozen food section when this colorfuly delicious box of spanakapita practically jumped into my shopping cart.  Oh man, I haven't had spanakapita for years and I mean, years.  When I was a poor starving college student, my friend, Fariba, cooked up a graduation dinner beyond compare.  One of her main dishes was her family recipe for Spanakapita.  Fariba, a lovely cook, someone to which I'd never even compare my culinary skills to, prepared it with utter perfection.  The philo dough was light as a feather, flaky and buttery.  The spinach melted in your mouth while the garlic and feta left a satisfyingly strong aftertaste, making me wish I could take the whole casserole dish itself, hide in her closet, and eat it all - with my fingers.  So when I saw that frozen box in the store, I did not hesitate as it found an immediate home in my grocery bag and then into my freezer at home. 

Thursday was the day to cook it for dinner.  We weren't busy and I"d have time to cook it properly and then savor each bite with a bottle of wine.  As it cooked, I could literally taste the smells eminating from the oven.  As I sliced it into large square pieces and onto our dinner plates, I marveled the stunning green of the spinach.  It looked impressive.  Proudly, I brought our dishes to the table.  My savory dreamy fog was soon parted as my husband wasted no time to announce that he was horrified by 'all that green'.  He laughed nervously as he cut a bite and put it on his fork.  Tentatively, he brought the fork to his mouth.  Then as if doomed to drink from a poisonous vile, he took a bite.  He chewed, slowly at first, testing his tastebuds.  Then he started chewing faster and faster until finally he swallowed.  I sat there wondering to myself if he would find it as delectable as I.  He opened his mouth but then hesitated.  Yes, he must be trying to figure out how to put into words how wonderfully amazing this was.  How he couldn't believe that spinach could taste so good.  Then he found his voice... "It tastes like grass clippings rolled up in philo dough".  Ok, I have never laughed so hard and been so pissed off at the same time.  What followed was a hilarious exchange of remarks pertaining to my grass clippings meal and his picky taste. 

Was I mad?  Not really but I did offer to make hime something else.  In fact, I had a can of something in the kitchen that I could cook up really fast.  He looked relieved that he may be off the hook.  I got up and opened the pantry and reached for a can.  I put the can in the pan with a spoon and brought it out to him. Huh? I think he was confused so I cleared things up for him.  I was serving him up  a steaming hot can of whoop ass. 

Well, to make this long story a little shorter, I'll sum it up by saying, he went to a drive through and picked himself up a burger, laughing all the way about me and my 'cooking'.  I let him go, happily, of course.  Just because I'm a freakazoid when it comes to worldly dishes, doesn't mean he has to be.  Yeah, part of the fun though is trying to get him to try it and see him shudder in response.  But it was a really good laugh and I will certainly never forget and neither of us will ever let the other live it down!

Coming to a dinner table near you!