I am irrational

I am irrational when it comes to a failed dish. I feel like someone punched me in the face and I want to yell, "Why?! Why you do this to me, Martha?" I feel like I just learned there is no Santa.

This was one of those dishes. Everything seemed like it would be great. I love every single individual ingredient in the dish. I just don't know where the hell it went wrong. Maybe because you are supposed to serve this dish cold. Maybe I didn't cut the noodles up. I don't know. But in any case, this dish was a fail.

I'll give you the recipe and hopefully if you are brave enough to try it, it will work for you. I hope it does since I do irrationally hate a failed dish.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 jalapeno chile, minced (ribs and seeds removed for less heat if desired)
3 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/4 cup dark-brown sugar
3/4 cup rice vinegar
4 cups shredded rotisserie chicken, skin and bones discarded (from 1 whole chicken), room temperature
1 package (8.8 ounces) cellophane (bean-thread) noodles, prepared according to package instructions
1 English cucumber, cut into 3-inch sticks
2 cups fresh cilantro leaves

Directions:
~ In a small saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add jalapeno, ginger, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until garlic is golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add sugar and vinegar and cook until sauce is slightly thickened, about 6 minutes. Refrigerate until cool, at least 15 minutes (or up to 1 week).

~ Combine chicken, noodles, cucumber, and cilantro. Drizzle with dressing just before serving.

recipe by: Martha Stewart

Peach Pie or Proof Why I Don't Bake

Since The Good Husband loves peaches and I bought some nice Calhoun peaches at the Farmer's Market, I thought I would make a pie. I love making pies but I always make kinds I don't like to eat. Something about making the dough and crimping it and browning the crust are fun to me. Here is how the pie looked out of the oven.

Looks nice, doesn't it? Well don't be fooled by this peach Trojan Horse. I knew something had gone horribly wrong when the pie slice I placed on the plate, flattened and sort of spread out. That's when I knew: I didn't cook the bottom crust before I filled the pie. What a stupid mistake and I knew that as I was filling the unbaked pie crust with peach filling, something didn't seem right.

But I couldn't throw the pie away. After all, I used Calhoun peaches, the gold standard of peaches 'round here. It would be such a waste, and I would cry. I didn't feel like crying. I felt like a doctor. 'This pie can be saved', I told myself. 'After all, the top crust is just fine and it did look so pretty.'

So, I decrusted the pie. I removed the top crust; baked it in the oven for 15 minutes just to make sure it was cooked. I then scooped out the peach filling, careful not to scoop out the dough as well. I put the peach filling into a new pie pan and retopped it with the crust. That when into the oven again for 15 minutes.

The end result looks like this:

It's a shame I don't eat peach pie because I worked so hard on this that it would be awesome if it tasted great despite me almost ruining it. TGH will now have to eat this and wonder how a two crust pie now only has one. But I think it will taste the same and lesson learned: I need to work on my baking skills