I Like Burnt Edges

The other night is saw a television advertizement for microwavable frozen lasagne that used the tag line "And no burnt edges." Why no burnt edges? And anyway,
I like the burnt edges. That's the crispy part that has texture to contrast with the soft noodles and cheese. Now I don't mean something totally burnt beyond recognition, but a burnt edge is the evidence of real heat, not simply molecules moving very fast.

This is what lasagne is supposed to look like. Not mine, unfortunately.

The advertizement I saw was in Food Network"s Restaurant Impossible, that included a scene in which Chef Robert Irvine was shouting "Presentation, presentation, presentation as the revamped restaurant was about to reopen. Given the look of the previously served food, there is not doubt the new dishes looked better, but the presentation was the last criteria, not the first.

Now I understand that there is a relationship between the look of dish and all it's other components. It is the totality of the dish that is important to the experience of dining. At the same time, for some of us, and for some times all of us, we just want to eat something regardless of how it looks. That's called hunger. Many people world-wide would settle for the sustenance, burnt edges and all. I don't need for food to look perfect. Food just needs to satisfy our basic nutritional needs. Everything after that, if you excuse me, is gravy.

For those interested, you can check out my recipe page. And don't worry about burning the edges.