Blackened Salmon

I am quite the cook these days but I have spent thirty three years of marriage perfecting my culinary skills.

I was very much not a good cook when we were dating. When we met, I was 22 and could boil water for pasta and open a jar of sauce.

The first meal I cooked for him was blackened Salmon. A cajun dish. I followed every step of the recipe. At the risk of sounding immodest, I have to say that nowadays, my following a recipe would meet with great success and all would enjoy a tasty meal. Not so much that night.

I placed the plate in front of my then fiancé. He smiled, took a bite, stopped smiling, swallowed and said, "I can't eat this."

At the same time, I had also taken a bite and had spit it out, surreptitiously, into a napkin.

I replied, "Me neither."

I hadn't managed to distinguish "blackened" from "burnt."

Full disclosure: I haven't attempted a recipe with "blackened" in the title since.