It happens almost weekly and I can’t help myself. I get sucked into the Pinterest vortex. All those pictures are so fantastic and rich looking.
Want to decorate your child room for their Birthday? Boom, look on Pinterest and there are umpteen bazillion ways to do it. But the food pics, oh the food pics, they really suck me in.
I swear they could take a photo of cardboard dipped in ketchup and I would repin it. I don’t know what it is about them. I have made so many recipes that I have repined and I have to say only about 30% of the time am I really blown away. I feel cheated. Like I got fixed up on Match.com and I thought I was getting Matt Damon and Zach Galifianakis showed up.
So Thursday night I decided to put two recipes I had repined to the test. I followed them exactly, and if you know me you know that was hard to do. I usually just use a recipe as a guideline unless I am baking.
I made this Herb and Citrus Roast Chicken as the main dish. It was very easy to assemble. Fresh orange and lemon juice with onions and fresh herbs. There was no way it could be bad.
It bakes for one hour in a 400 degree oven. Here is what my dish looked like before and after. Not too bad. Maybe not as pretty as the Pinterest version but I am not a professional food photographer.
Before
After
I would change a few things. First I highly recommend that you marinate the chicken in the juice, garlic and olive oil mixture for at least 4-6 hrs or longer if you have time. It needs it. Second the sauce that is left in the dish is really the star. It is wonderful. I strained mine and served it on the side. It would be heavenly paired with some fluffy mashed potatoes on the side.
Final Verdict:
Pinterest Win (with some adjustments).
Second recipe I was dying to try was called Crack Salad. With a name like that I just had to try it.
Nothing overly complicated or special. You just sauté some asparagus and zucchini until just cooked through and let it cool to room temperature. Next you assemble the salad of Arugula, avocado, the asparagus and zucchini and lots of freshly shaved parmesan cheese. You make a quick dressing of fresh lemon juice, balsamic vinegar and olive oil with salt and pepper. See nothing too complicated.
Here is my version. I was a tad underwhelmed with this. It was just ok. Maybe with a name like Crack Salad I was led down a road to thinking it would change my life somehow. I would be hiding in a back alleyway slinging this recipe to my friends and family trying to get them addicted too.
One word of advice. You must eat this IMMEDIATELY after it is tossed with the dressing or it becomes very wilted and mushy. I added the dressing the minute I heard my husbands car pull in the driveway and by the time he got changed it was already a mushy mess. And if you have ever tossed a salad with avocado in it you know the more you toss with it the more it will breakdown and you will be left with what looks like guacamole in your arugula. I do love a good guacamole. Maybe next time I will share my recipe with you.
Final Verdict
Meh, would probably not make it again. Dressing wasn’t great with the balsamic in it (actually made the salad look dirty and I used less than the recipe called for) and the avocado, which I love, didn’t really add anything but a mushy mess once tossed. Look for firmer avocados if you are going to use them in a salad.
What are some of your Pinterest victories or worst failures?
Don’t forget to follow us on Pinterest – several of us on the CSP team pin to it and we have some AWESOME recipes on there!!
