EDSALL FAMILY LIVING ROOM -- After a disappointing family dinner that featured an overcooked pot roast, bland vegetables and watery mashed potatoes, patriarch Randy Edsall blamed the inability of his family to execute when it mattered most.
"If everybody does their job usually you have a good dinner," Edsall said. "There might be times when something just doesn't taste right. You could have set everything up and use the technique the right way but all of a sudden the food just goes bad. Those things are going to happen but some of the things that we've had happen against us is because … [the family] hasn't used the technique the right way. We've had some meals that should have been great, but we just couldn't find the right tools in the kitchen."
Observers of the family have long questioned Edsall's ability to select quality protein, produce and spices, a notion that Edsall disputed. He said he felt system the family often uses - which involves him picking all the ingredients and having his wife and two children handle the actual cooking - works fine.
Edsall emphasized that his focus during the week had been going over the roast with his wife, but when it came time to cook, she wasn't able to sufficiently season the meat or get it out of the oven in time.
"The problem is not that I get USDA standard-grade meat," Edsall said. "What help would prime meat be if we can't execute?
"Overall when you look at it, it doesn't matter we had a bad dinner. The only way we're going to get out of this is we've got to work harder," Edsall said. "That's what I told the kids afterward. There are no magic words. There's no magic potion. Basically what we have to do is we have to work harder and we have to keep getting better. That's all I know we can do, and that's what we're going to continue to do."
To bolster his argument, Edsall pointed to past dinner success, including the time he microwaved a tv dinner, or the time he made a made a turkey sandwich.
"I didn't lose my taste buds overnight," Edsall said. "Some meals you have enough pieces for the puzzle. Some meals you don't. All you try to do is continue to work each and every day to make sure the family cooks the best they can in every aspect of the meal.
"Ten years ago we shopped for groceries at 7-11," he said. "I think our dinners have come a long way."