Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Homemaking Tip—A Stiff Upper Lip


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With all her talents and perfections, Martha Stewart has mastered a stiff upper-lip. She can burn something, look straight into the camera, smack her lips and say, “Delectable.” I’ve watched her do it. One time she pulled a piece of chicken from the frying pan that was positively burnt—the piece that the mother in the family would have gotten. While the rest of us would have secretly tried to scrape the burnt layer into the sink or cover it with a sauce, Martha convinced us that although the recipe was not a “blackened,” “charred,” or “peppered” one, the chicken piece was done to perfection.

Since seeing that episode, whenever I cook something less than appetizing I think, “Delectable!” and serve it with a forced air of confidence. A stiff-upper-cooking-lip is probably "the good"-est thing Martha has ever taught me.



**Disclaimer. I probably should mention the time that Cali added 1 cup of mustard to tuna casserole and tried to pull it off with a stiff-upper-lip. When we sat down to supper, the other kids asked her why it was so yellow and smelled funny. She airily waved their skepticism aside with her fork. After the blessing on the food (and it did need one) she took a big bite with an exaggerated, "Yuuummmmmmm." The rest of us took a little bite. I don't remember what we had for supper that night, but it wasn't tuna casserole because a stiff-upper lip can only cover so much, and a cup of mustard is too much.

12 comments:

Ande said...

And Cali called your food crap...silly girl.

Kathy’s Korner said...

Yes there are some things that even a "stiff upper lip" can't cover. I wish I could tell it like you do, but I am going to try a blog post on my worst dish! Thanks for the memory nudge!

Deidra said...

Oh Martha. Isn't she something? It's as if anything she touches will be perfect. Because she says so.

There was one cooking experiment in our marriage that turned out pretty awful (when you substitute everything in the recipe for something else, you might just come up with something else!). I think Chris still took it for lunch the next day, but it stands in infamy as the worst meal we've shared.

Amy said...

love this.

Cali said...

That's what you got for making someone cook who DIDN'T want to cook.

Cali

Cassidy said...

So funny. I can totally picture Cali.

Rachel said...

Hear, Hear Cali!

ShelleyG said...

What a fun post. With lots of little ones at our house I need to remember to tell them how yummy everything is! :) I laughed reading about the casserole!

Samantha said...

Interesting comment. I feel I have to apologize anytime I make anything. I'm going to try this new trick and see if it makes a difference.

Mike and Lisa said...

I'm the same way, I feel like I'm always admitting my mistakes or making apologies whenever I cook something. What a good tip! I'm going to have to try this one. Love Martha. Love Neighbor Jane.

Marie said...

Now this is one great post.

michelle said...

Ha! Hilarious.

We still tease my grandma (a fabulous cook) about the time she made divinity without rinsing out her Bosch bowl well enough after washing. We called it Dawnvinity.