Boy, do I feel bad about that
There is a huge baby boom going on in The Club this year. Every single month we're expecting a new arrival, if not two. With new babies & new mothers who may need some extra help, members of The Club get organized to bring meals for the adjusting family. Now that I'm feeling well enough to cook again, I was eager to sign up for one of our playgroup moms who just had her second baby last week.

I was excited to make this meal because for one, I really like the mom & see her every week at playgroup. Secondly, she's helped us out by giving us all of our moving boxes when we moved. Plus, she was always volunteering to take care of Logan while I was sick (even though I didn't take anyone up on that offer just because I was at my worst when Bill was home to take care of him). She also needed dairy-free meals because of breastfeeding the baby & I felt like I would be a good resource for that considering all of the allergy-free meals that I've been collecting since Logan's food allergies were diagnosed.

I made a cranberry chicken over wild & long grain rice casserole, a spinach side salad & lemonade cake. The cake was delicious as I ate two pieces waiting for the chicken to cook. The salad was just spinach, cucumber & tomatoes. Hard to screw that one up. The chicken baked in the oven over the rice with the cranberry sauce. I tasted the chicken to make sure it was cooked before packing it up. It was good to go. I did not taste the rice, however.

After dropping the meal off, Logan & I came back home to eat the same thing for our dinner. I sat down at the table & after taking a couple of bites, I thought to myself, "why is this so crunchy? Did I add too many almond slices?" After taking a few more bites, I realized that some of the rice was cooked, but other types of grains were not. I was mortified. I just made a meal for a friend & her family who are probably spitting out undercooked rice as I type.

Now, I watch my fair share of Hell's Kitchen & anything & everything on The Food Network. You think the concept of tasting your dish before sending it out would sink in. Or maybe it was karma when I was laughing at Bobby Flay screwing up all of his rice dishes, turning to Bill saying, "He's a professional chef. No! He's an Iron Chef! And he doesn't know how to cook rice!?"

I immediately put down my fork & sent her an email apologizing for the undercooked rice. I joked saying that at least the rest of the meal was cooked & taste-tested, all the while feeling like a dork for making a meal that she probably won't eat.

Well, next time I sign up I'll make sure to taste every part of the meal. If I haven't been banned from cooking for The Club, that is.