Failure Smells Like Blue Cheese

Either I failed to thrilled the Foodbuzz community,
I failed to impress the big wig judges,
Or
THEY failed to appreciate my genius. Yeah, that sounds good. At least that make me feel a little better.

Seriously though, as soon as I got the "We regret to inform you . . ." e-mail from Project Food Blog, I took a deep breath and laid down for a nap in the sun. My kids' laughter sounded sweeter. The fall breeze felt fresher than it had for a few weeks. And I just relaxed.

Fennel Apple Bisque and Cheddar Cornmeal Biscuit. Recipes will be turning up here soon!

When I woke up, I cooked what I wanted to eat. I called a friend to share it with. I enjoyed my meal hot instead of worrying about the taking the perfect picture, only to get frustrated that I am unable to take a perfect picture, then slurp it cold.

Sometimes, failure is the way to go.

Then again, sometime failure stinks like blue cheese. I'm talking about my attempt at Project Food Blog's Challenge #4 - Picture Perfect: post a picture recipe tutorial with mouth watering photos.

Blue Apricot Brulee



Failure #1: Drizzle skillet with olive oil
Fix: It should have been butter or canola oil at the worst.




Failure #2: Add about 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar.
Fix: It was too much. Only add a little drizzle.



#3: Dump in thawed apricot halves and their juices.

Failure #4: Arrange cut side up.
Fix: There should be more fruit to fill skillet and keep from slipping around and toppling.



Failure #5: Sprinkle about 1/2 tsp blue cheese into each piece of fruit.
Fix: This was a huge mistake! Take the blue cheese out completely and subsitute milder goat cheese.





Failure #6: Drizzle a bit of honey into each apricot.
Fix: I should have been more generous with the honey. These apricots were tart!



#6: Cover with foil to encourage cheese to melt. Chop hazelnuts and toast while apricots are on the fire.

#7: Cook until vinegar caramlizes and cheese looks melty. Be careful not to let honey burn.




#8: Sprinkle with toasted nuts.
Looks like it could be okay right?




Wrong.


I choked down one, then another, and was just as dissapointed with the second apricot as the first. The third apricot sat cold on my plate before I shoved it down the garabage disposal with the rest of the skillet apricots. Classic case of trying too hard. Oh well.


Quick run to the grocery store for the back up plan. Pretty good!



Now I'm wondering if those voters and judges were on to something . . . nah.

Dinner rocked - Fire Potatoes and Skillet Poached Tomatoe Eggs. Perfect tasting but too dark for those "mouthwatering photos." You'll just have to grow an imagination! (Recipe link coming later)

Hopefully this flop won't put you off FRESH AIR + FRESH FOOD for good, just blue cheese.

If you stay tuned, you'll catch a new recipe for Roasted Acorn Squash with Kale that I'll be cooking up on KOIN's Studio 6 out of Portland, OR. You can check your local listings for the show time (4:00pm on channel 6 locally), or wait for me to post the clip later this week.

Finally, I want to give a BIG OL' THANK YOU to all you who voted for me and became Fresh FOLLWERS of this blog. I am thrilled that I took part in the challenge not only for the incredibly generous comments I've recieved and people that have found me here in the blogosphere, but for the other blogs I've found . . .

Chat N' Chow - Still in it to win it! Hop on over to see her step by step chicken soup.
edible cville  - The best writer in the competition but like me was given the boot! Oh well. Maybe we should both take a photography class and get new cameras together. At any rate, she has a top notch, honest blog that will make you salivate and laugh (so have a napkin handy to wipe off your computer screen when you read).
Runs With Spatulas - Snappy writing, good pictures, and NUTRITION INFORMATION! I don't know how she does it but at the end of each post she grades the recipe, and includes all the nutrition info you need to know. BTW, this blog is still in the running too and deserves your vote. This time she made ice cream!