Our First Meal

So last week was quite interesting and fun. Kerry's roommate and neighbors wanted us to make them a typical American meal that did not consist of hotdogs or hamburgers. "Well," we thought. "What's left?" The U.S. has some incredible food, but most of it has come from other countries. So, we decided to go southern. Well, at lest partially. Kerry wanted to make cole slaw and baked macaroni and cheese. I wanted to make mashed potatoes and deviled eggs. And what would a southern meal be without sweet tea? For the main course, we found a baked parmesan chicken recipe (not so southern) online and Jim's mom gave me a recipe for apple cobbler. The first thing we did was to go to Eroski (our supermarket) and find what we needed. We still had other things to do too, so we began a little later than preferred. Once we sorted through our huge pile of food and cooking utensils, we started to create our American masterpiece. I did the eggs first while Kerry made the slaw, both of which are super easy to make. However, I can't find relish in Caceres, I had to chop up some pickles very finely. Then, we went on to the mashed potatoes and baked macaroni and cheese. Kerry is a pro at mac & cheese, and I had never made mashed potatoes on my own before. However, as it turns out, they're pretty easy, too, despite the fact that I had no sour cream and mashed potatoes just aren't mashed potatoes without sour cream (another thing I can't find here). So we threw in garlic and it made the dish really good. By the way, my roommate Steph is an excellent potato peeler. Naturally, the mac & cheese has to bake in the oven, but we couldn't figure out how to work it. Appliances are different here in Europe and even within the different countries in Europe. So Kerry called her roommate who came over and got the oven going like magic. Apparently, like the eyes on the stove, you have to start it with a match or lighter. Even though our foreign ignorance cost us much more time, we were just happy that everything was working. While the mac & cheese was baking, we started preparing the chicken pesto parmesan. What we didn't know, though, was that the marinade/sauce for the chicken had to refrigerate for 1-2 hours and the chicken had to bake for about one hour. So we decided that it didn't matter about the sauce, and we put it on anyway. After the mac & cheese was ready, which smelled divine, we put the chicken in the oven. While we waited on that, i made the tea (which I later forgot the lemon for), and Kerry, Kelly, and I started fixing the apple cobbler. That was probably the most fun to make. Not only was it easy, but it was also funny. While we were peeling apples at the table, Kerry's apple slipped from her hands, bounced across the table, and I caught it in an awkward place before it fell. Very ladylike I know, but what could I do? Also, the recipe Jim's mom sent me didn't call for flour in the ingredients, so I didn't buy any, but it did mention it later in the instructions. So, to make up for it, we just added more sugar! As we brought the chicken out, our guests started to arrive. By this time, it was after 10:30, and we were starving. We put all the food in the living room and just dug in. Everything was delicious, and everyone else seemed to love it all, too. Then, the smell of the cobbler was absolutely heavenly, and it tasted like it, too. All in all, it was a success! But I must say that it's very important to read the recipe all the way through before you make it so you know how long it take to make and if someone forgot to add all the ingredients. Also, the conversions are different, so we pretty much just eyed everything. I'm glad that our first meal for our new European friends turned out well, and in the spring, we've decided to have a cookout! I know. I know. If we can't work an oven, how can we work a grill?