For the Love of All That Is Holy. I don't know why but this issue is EVERYWHERE in my life right now. Sigh.
And here it is at the top of the new posts on SR. Two weekends ago, I was out of town and two issues with food cooked with alcohol came up in the same day. One, the only queso option was tequila flambeed (seriously? You can't just heat it instead?) and despite asking the (fairly inept hence untrustworthy) server to talk to the kitchen and make sure it didn't come that way, it came out looking "bruleed" on top. I didn't eat it; I hadn't consciously thought of what I'd do about cooked food- probably not eat it- so I passed. Then at dinner, we got tiramisu to go- one of my favorite desserts ever- and when we got back to the hotel, I thought "wait! doesn't this have alcohol in it?" Yep, rum. So I didn't eat it either. So I talk to my sponsor, think through it, realize I have hit a wall with a line for me- no food cooked with alcohol, at least right now.
So then what happens? I'm at a dinner party last night and my gf, who is a great cook, has made what looks like a super dinner. She had sweetly asked beforehand what I'd like to drink and even though I assured her water was ok, she got lots of club soda with lime. No problem. We sit down to the first course- octupus over a yogurt and olive oil base, delicious- and afterwards I happen to ask her how it was cooked because it was so good. "Oh, I boiled it in wine then braised it..." WHAT?! Didn't taste like alcohol, just goodness. So then the whole conversation becomes- how did you cook everything else? OMG, what did I just do? So now we're on salad, and I eat just the butter lettuce with the sliced avocado, no dressing just to be safe because she couldn't remember if she put the rice wine in the dressing like she did on the entree.
My stress level is rising this whole time. I'm trying not to become a problem guest and I'm texting my sponsor and mom after the salad course. Can I just eat the veggies that would come with the branzino (she did cook that in the rice wine)? Is any of this a big deal? I didn't MEAN TO DO IT!
Seriously? This is crazy making. I started tearing up after the salad and decided to leave. She feels horrible and because we are all really polite people, I just made a graceful exit about not feeling well - but it was so abrupt, I am sure there was "WTH happened" later since it was a dinner of 7.
What did I actually ingest? I don't know and articles I found pretty much say what Scott said above. *Here is one article I found -
Can Recovering Alcoholics Eat Food Cooked with Alcohol? | Debunking Addiction - HealthyPlace *
The intent was certainly not to drink but I honestly can't tell you how I feel about all this other than upset- the control of the ONE thing I can control was....not in my control. Here come the questions....do I never eat out? Do I ask painstaking questions of future hosts? Do I just not get worked up about it and make a mental note of the lesson (be ever vigilant and opt for a preemptive no thanks?)?
Clearly, there is some reason this issue is on my plate right now (ha). Maybe it's because nine months is Fri and I need some heightened reminder of the fact that alcohol is everywhere.
Or maybe it's because I'm ok, and this isn't gonna make me drink.
Whatever the case, clearly alcohol in food is a no go for me. No cheese, cake or fish is worth the angst.