When Surprises Are Bad
An unwelcome surprise for my husband.
Last night I prepared an unusual recipe for quesadillas to accompany the pork loin we were having for dinner. I found this recipe in the October issue of Bon Appetit magazine and it looked both tasty, and like a great way to use up some of the late squash I picked up at the farm. The recipe was called Sugar Pumpkin, Feta, and Cilantro Quesadillas. Essentially the recipe calls for cooking the pumpkin, mashing it, mixing in minced jalapeno, loading it into tortillas, and topping with feta and cilantro. I thought it was a great mix of savory flavors – a very pleasant surprise for a quesadilla.
Too bad my family didn’t agree. Both girls left some of their portions and Joe ate his without comment. Hmm, a clear sign that I was the only one loving it. When I questioned him today on why he clearly disliked them, I received an unexpected response. Apparently he initially expected a traditional quesadilla with melty cheddar cheese. His eyes took in the orange from the pumpkin, and registered an expectation. When he didn’t get his expected, gooey cheese, it was a bad surprise. The feta cheese just wasn’t a good substitute. Plus, the pumpkin filling gave the wrong, messy texture when he took a big bite. Texture is apparently a huge factor in my house – Joe doesn’t like squishy sandwiches, Annie doesn’t like tomatoes, Louisa dislikes squash. I guess there’s no pleasing some families. But, you know what? As long as I’m cooking the food – I get to make the tastes and textures I like, and I liked those quesadillas.
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Often I have had restaurants recommended to me. Many times they describe food as exquisite. This unfortunately raises my expectations and when I eat at the restaurant I feel disapointed. Expectations are important in dining experience. You can tast the food before it is served. Mock foods can amuse because it is not what you expected. I also suspect the dislike of a food’s texture may be rooted in expectations.
Expectations are important in many areas. Movies are similar. Everyone raves about the latest movie, raising your expectations beyond what the movie deserves, and then you walk out disappointed.