One of my favourite restaurants is McCormick & Schmick's in Seattle; the last time I went there I bought a cookbook but somehow never got round to making anything from it - maybe the memory was more precious to me than trying. So one day we had a visitor who is from the Pacific North-West, and I decided that this was the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone - keep my memories of the restaurant and my friends in Seattle fresh, and make our visitor something from his home region. So I chose a salmon dish that was served with blueberries. It was the first time I had made it, and it goes without saying that I completely messed it up - I put the blueberries in way too early, and the result was this purple fishy mess.

Anyway, our visitor was extremely complimentary and ate three helpings, washed down by a glass or two of wine. Meanwhile, my wife toyed with the food and finally pushed her plate away from her and said, 'Honey, as much as I love you I just cannot eat this. It is probably the worst thing I have ever seen, and it tastes just as bad'.

I have not made anything else from that cook book since.