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It seems in many marriages, for every Ricky there’s a Lucy. The age old tug-of-war between the sensible and the spontaneous can affect every aspect of marital life from vacation planning to nightly dinner. The “Ricky” of the relationship knows the family is on a budget and plans dinner accordingly, even if that sometimes means eating the same tuna casserole several nights in a row.
Meanwhile, while Ricky waits for his casserole leftovers, “Lucy” has come home from the market blowing half the week’s food budget on a lavish weekday dinner for her hubby. As with many other parts of marriage, when it comes to dinner, happiness is best found in the compromise.
In the case of my recently married friends, AnneMarie and Adam, the Ricky and Lucy roles have been reversed. AnneMarie is the Ricky, keeping the couple to a strict $200 per week budget for food and incidental household items as they try and save for a down payment on a home. AnneMarie scours the grocery store for sale items and isn’t afraid to drive an extra 15 minutes to Target if she knows the bagels are cheaper there than at the local store. Her quick dinners of supermarket specials on chicken, steak, corn, and potatoes may be simple, but they get her and Adam one step closer to finally cooking dinner in a real house.
Adam’s “Lucy” on the other hand, doesn’t get very excited about cooking the supermarket specials. If AnneMarie sends him to the grocery store with the mission of cooking dinner, he’ll return a half hour later, and $90 poorer, with ground veal, beef, and pork for making a long cooking Bolognese, a recipe that won’t have them sitting down to eat until the 10pm Nightly News. Adam’s spontaneous cooking endeavors are exciting but perhaps not viable for the everyday.
Adam’s way is fun and exciting, but time intensive and costly. AnneMarie’s way is practical and quick, but gets old really fast. They need to find a way to add some excitement to their nightly dinners, without spending more money, and doing it in the quickest way possible.
Taking into account incidental household goods, the occasional Starbucks run, and breakfast and lunch food, I estimate this couple still has at least $15 per night to use for dinner. A recent tour of my local supermarket revealed specials that would have appealed to AnneMarie’s wallet and Adam’s appetite.
I could envision panko crusted think cut pork loin chops ($3.49 per lb) or a pot of mussels ($4.99/lb) steamed with smoked linguica chorizo ($4.79 for 13 oz) and an imported beer ($2.39 for 16 oz.). Risotto ($5.99/lb Arborio rice) with Alaskan wild smoked salmon ($5.79 for 4 oz) and Meyer lemon ($.79 each) or skirt steak ($7.49/lb) and new spring asparagus ($.99/lb) stir-fry. With AnneMarie’s knack for finding deals and Adam’s penchant fancy cooking, it seems a little creativity is all they need for a whole world of dinner ideas.
When it comes to entertaining, even AnneMarie understands the urge to splurge. However, after having had too many friends return the favor by serving Hamburger Helper, the couple is considering boycotting having people over altogether rather than waste money on expensive meat for unappreciative friends.
I encourage them to make the dinner look (and taste) exceptional with a little bit of something special that won’t cost too much and will stretch a long way. Pancetta is one of those cured meat miracles that cubed up and cooked in with a tomato sauce turn even the most mundane canned tomatoes into something heavenly.
Truffle oil might be an investment when you initially buy it, but a little drizzle over potatoes, mushroom risotto, or even scrambled eggs goes a long way toward making a good dish dazzling. More everyday condiments like soy sauce, anchovies, capers, olives, can add layers of nuanced flavor to otherwise simple dishes with a very modest upfront investment.
The ingredient battle doesn’t end there. Adam loves fresh herbs, he says the flavor is worth the cost. AnneMarie says no, they are more expensive than dried herbs and he can never cook with all of them before the remainder goes bad.
I say they are both right. Fresh herbs often are better than dried, especially when working in shorter cooking times where the fresh flavors pop instantly. However rather than buy cut herbs at the market, they should buy potted herbs from the nursery. That way Adam can have his flavor and AnneMarie doesn’t have to worry about wasting money, as long as one of them can remember to water.
A sweet caramel is made more delicious with a sprinkling of salt. A fatty fried plate of calamari cries out for the acidic bite of lemon. Whether in food or love, opposites brought together create balance and through that union bring out the best in each part. Working together, AnneMarie and Adam will be cooking delicious, fun, fast dinners in the kitchen of their first real house sooner than AnneMarie can yell “Luuuccccyyyy!!!”
©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
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Big Flavor, On a Budget
It seems in many marriages, for every Ricky there’s a Lucy. The age old tug-of-war between the sensible and the spontaneous can affect every aspect of marital life from vacation planning to nightly dinner. The “Ricky” of the relationship knows the family is on a budget and plans dinner accordingly, even if that sometimes means eating the same tuna casserole several nights in a row.
Meanwhile, while Ricky waits for his casserole leftovers, “Lucy” has come home from the market blowing half the week’s food budget on a lavish weekday dinner for her hubby. As with many other parts of marriage, when it comes to dinner, happiness is best found in the compromise.
In the case of my recently married friends, AnneMarie and Adam, the Ricky and Lucy roles have been reversed. AnneMarie is the Ricky, keeping the couple to a strict $200 per week budget for food and incidental household items as they try and save for a down payment on a home. AnneMarie scours the grocery store for sale items and isn’t afraid to drive an extra 15 minutes to Target if she knows the bagels are cheaper there than at the local store. Her quick dinners of supermarket specials on chicken, steak, corn, and potatoes may be simple, but they get her and Adam one step closer to finally cooking dinner in a real house.
Adam’s “Lucy” on the other hand, doesn’t get very excited about cooking the supermarket specials. If AnneMarie sends him to the grocery store with the mission of cooking dinner, he’ll return a half hour later, and $90 poorer, with ground veal, beef, and pork for making a long cooking Bolognese, a recipe that won’t have them sitting down to eat until the 10pm Nightly News. Adam’s spontaneous cooking endeavors are exciting but perhaps not viable for the everyday.
Adam’s way is fun and exciting, but time intensive and costly. AnneMarie’s way is practical and quick, but gets old really fast. They need to find a way to add some excitement to their nightly dinners, without spending more money, and doing it in the quickest way possible.
Taking into account incidental household goods, the occasional Starbucks run, and breakfast and lunch food, I estimate this couple still has at least $15 per night to use for dinner. A recent tour of my local supermarket revealed specials that would have appealed to AnneMarie’s wallet and Adam’s appetite.
I could envision panko crusted think cut pork loin chops ($3.49 per lb) or a pot of mussels ($4.99/lb) steamed with smoked linguica chorizo ($4.79 for 13 oz) and an imported beer ($2.39 for 16 oz.). Risotto ($5.99/lb Arborio rice) with Alaskan wild smoked salmon ($5.79 for 4 oz) and Meyer lemon ($.79 each) or skirt steak ($7.49/lb) and new spring asparagus ($.99/lb) stir-fry. With AnneMarie’s knack for finding deals and Adam’s penchant fancy cooking, it seems a little creativity is all they need for a whole world of dinner ideas.
When it comes to entertaining, even AnneMarie understands the urge to splurge. However, after having had too many friends return the favor by serving Hamburger Helper, the couple is considering boycotting having people over altogether rather than waste money on expensive meat for unappreciative friends.
I encourage them to make the dinner look (and taste) exceptional with a little bit of something special that won’t cost too much and will stretch a long way. Pancetta is one of those cured meat miracles that cubed up and cooked in with a tomato sauce turn even the most mundane canned tomatoes into something heavenly.
Truffle oil might be an investment when you initially buy it, but a little drizzle over potatoes, mushroom risotto, or even scrambled eggs goes a long way toward making a good dish dazzling. More everyday condiments like soy sauce, anchovies, capers, olives, can add layers of nuanced flavor to otherwise simple dishes with a very modest upfront investment.
The ingredient battle doesn’t end there. Adam loves fresh herbs, he says the flavor is worth the cost. AnneMarie says no, they are more expensive than dried herbs and he can never cook with all of them before the remainder goes bad.
I say they are both right. Fresh herbs often are better than dried, especially when working in shorter cooking times where the fresh flavors pop instantly. However rather than buy cut herbs at the market, they should buy potted herbs from the nursery. That way Adam can have his flavor and AnneMarie doesn’t have to worry about wasting money, as long as one of them can remember to water.
A sweet caramel is made more delicious with a sprinkling of salt. A fatty fried plate of calamari cries out for the acidic bite of lemon. Whether in food or love, opposites brought together create balance and through that union bring out the best in each part. Working together, AnneMarie and Adam will be cooking delicious, fun, fast dinners in the kitchen of their first real house sooner than AnneMarie can yell “Luuuccccyyyy!!!”
Fettuccine with Asparagus, Pancetta, and Tomato
Made with Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper, asparagus, fettuccine pasta, olive oil, pancetta, tomatoes, white wine
Made with Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper, asparagus, fettuccine pasta, olive oil, pancetta, tomatoes, white wine
Serves/Makes: 4
- 1 pound fettuccine pasta
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 pound pancetta, small dice
- 2 plum tomatoes
- 1 glass white wine
- 1 bunch thin asparagus
- salt and pepper
- Parmesan cheese
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and add fettuccine, cooking to package directions.
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large saute pan over a medium flame. Add the diced pancetta and cook for a couple of minutes to render the fat. Dice tomatoes and add to the saute pan along with a bit of salt and pepper.
Trim the woody end from the asparagus and cut the remaining stalk into pieces about 1 inch long. Add asparagus and white wine to the pan. Bring the heat to a simmer and cook with some additional salt and pepper until wine has reduced by half. Drain pasta when cooked to al dente. Add pasta to the saute pan along with about half a cup of reserved cooking liquid from the pasta. Toss the pasta with the pancetta and vegetables.
Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper if desired. Serve immediately and top each plate with grated Parmesan cheese.
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©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/amy-powell/1142-odd-couple-tastes/