Matilda-
Is life always this hard, or just when you're a kid?
Leon-
Always this hard.
-An
exchange from Luc Besson's awesome 1994 thriller, Leon.
Whoever
said “Hard work pays off” has clearly never attempted to make a
cheese soufflé. Yesterday, my hard work did not pay off. I've
finally made a start on the recipes in my Classics cookbook. And
guess what? I fucked it up. I followed the instructions word for
word, but I still encountered a problem. Nobody- author Keda Black
included- told me that “separate the eggs” meant “take the
yolks out”. I didn't acknowlede this until I realised I had to whisk
the whites- which I'd already stirred into the just-cooled bechamel
sauce.
Shit.
But
anyway, I continued and cooked it for the required time. The dish
contents didn't raise like I thought it would- this due to the flour
being three months out of date, unbeknown to me. But it still looked
about right, and tasted pretty good.
The
main drawback to this dish- and any other dish more complex than a
stir fry- is that the effort put in always far outweighs the pay-off.
It wasn't an amazing meal, and I felt pretty robbed afterwards.
Having spent about an hour preparing and cooking it, I wolfed it down
in about ten minutes. Such is life.
The
question is now- do I attempt this meal again, and get it right, or
move on to another dish?
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