Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Disappointment


Remember how excited I was to try this Penne Rustica copy cat recipe?

Well, I think all of the reviewers online are either crazy or have never actually been to Macaroni Grill.

This dish looked a lot like Penne Rustica. It had penne pasta, chicken, shrimp, and cured pork (though Macaroni Grill uses proscuitto, not bacon) in a creamy sauce, so I can see where people might draw conclusions on their similarity. But seriously, the sauce did not taste one bit like Macaroni Grill's. Sorry, guys, but my pregnant taste buds are quite discerning.

I was pretty disappointed to spend so much time, money, and calories when the whole thing didn't come out right. My husband loved it and ate much more than he should have, but I was just left wishing for the right flavor. Ah well, maybe that means we'll have to actually go out for it sometime!

Sorry to anyone who tried it expecting a clone of the original. I feel your pain.

2 comments:

Shannon said...

I feel like this happens a lot with copycat recipes. When you really like a dish from a restaurant it's pretty hard to really satisfy that craving with something from home. I don't know if it's sometimes just the fact that I had to cook it that makes it taste not as good or what, but I did the same thing when I tried to copy the Olive Garden's chicken gnocchi soup. Mine was ok, but didn't really hit my craving. Maybe you'll have to just have a date night and get the real thing! :)

Melissa O said...

I have been making oodles of your recipes lately and have loved all of them! Don't despair, you always do a great job! Thank you for your hard work!