And as one who benefitted from your culinary wizardry this past week, I must say the spaghetti and meatballs were divine. Rosie Allen gave me a breath mint in advance for the garlic in the sauce. It was all perfect Gene. Thank you.
Substitutions can indeed be dangerous. Your story reminds me of a time a recipe call for red pepper flakes and I substituted an equal amount of cayenne pepper. As you might imagine, the dish was completely inedible.
I came to Dining Around because I heard Gene mention his tomato pie, which I plan to make soon - perhaps this evening. I will want to give Gene my unbiased feedback when I do. Truth is, I am anticipating a marvelous gastronomic experience.