Anastacia Marx de Salcedo is a food writer. When I read this essay, I couldn't believe my eyes! I question what makes this woman think she can intelligently write about food.
Anastacia says she was making a large pot of shrimp gumbo to serve for a friend's going-away party. After she added 5 pounds of kielbasa to her 10 quarts of bubbling chicken stock, she noticed a "gray, bubbly and slightly fetid" layer of scum. But she was busy, so she just kept on about her chores. When she was ready to add the shrimp, she says she did "what any desperate hostess would do under the circumstances." She ladled off the stinky scum, added the shrimp, and served the toxic mess to her guests while she, herself, did not partake of the "completely putrid" concoction. She's just lucky none of those guests ended up going away permanently!
She says she noticed that most of the guests left their gumbo half-eaten or untouched. Gosh! I wonder why!
I guess I've just never been that desperate, and I certainly hope none of my friends have been. I'd have run down to the deli and had them put me together a sandwich tray and a fruit and veggie tray, bought a cake at the bakery, and apologized to my guests that my planned meal had gone awry. I would think this story was completely made up, but I know someone who was invited to a friend's house for supper one day. As the hostess served them the roast, they noticed she wasn't having any. When they asked her why she wasn't eating, she said something to the effect that, "Oh, I think that meat is spoiled."
The moral of this story: If the hostess isn't eating it, I'm not, either!
"I served putrid gumbo, and no one got sick." The Dallas Morning News; August 21, 2011; p. 4P.
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1 comment:
Obviously, I've been there, done that! Not a bite shall pass my lips until the hostess eats!
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