Quick Report, Then Bike and Bed

So, pictures of the box from Blue Apron:

And the ingredients for the pasta dish:

Wee bottle of cream!

Three recipes, each with pictures and instructions.

And how was it, you ask? My first Blue Apron meal?

Surprisingly good, actually. It's still a fair bit of work: it's a food delivery service, not a ready-to-eat-meal-delivery service, and there was plenty of chopping and  mixing. Some juggling, too, with those "while the pasta cooks..." sorts of things that you have to read ahead for. Not unreasonable, just I had to keep checking on what was upcoming. No, I really don't cook a lot. Clearly.

Pros:

• I cooked and ate Brussels sprouts! I've never even bought them before. And while I didn't love them, they weren't bad, mixed in with the pasta and cheese.
• I also wasn't sure about the Fontina cheese, it smelled slightly strong on its own (to my delicate senses), but it was also good in the final product.
• The recipe said three servings, but I ate plenty and had, at an estimate, 2.5 servings left over, so I'd say three-plus.
• It also reheated in the microwave fine. I could probably have left the breadcrumbs off (I put them all on last night), and added them when it was hot, but oh well. Still tasted good.

Cons:

• Yes, they only asked me to provide salt, pepper, and olive oil. I happen to think, however, that asking me to add salt and pepper to taste at four different points (plus salting the pasta water) is a bit much, and I didn't add any at the last two steps. It still tasted plenty seasoned.
• While they did try to minimize the pots and pans, having this pot used for two different steps, and that pot for two other steps, it was still a higher dirty-dish count than I prefer, especially on a weeknight. Okay, it was three. Maybe that's not unreasonable. But still.

Overall, a positive rating. We'll see how I feel after meals two and three.