I had the chance this weekend to experiment twice with meals this weekend. Yesterday morning I was in a dilemma because I had a few things for breakfast but not enough to cook my normal breakfasts. So, I mixed all my ingredients up in a casserole. It turned out pretty decent. There are thing I will change next time but for someone that doesn't experiment I was proud of myself.
Then last night my mom and step dad came over for dinner, for his birthday. I went to the store, bought all of my ingredients for steak and chicken on the grill and came home. Once home I realized that I did not have my normal Italian dressing for marinating the meat. I call my sister, who came to the rescue and offered some suggestions. I ended up marinating the meat in Blue Moon beer. It was a total success. The steaks were tender and juicy. The chicken has a good flavor but was a little over cooked.
All in all I'm excited about the experiments being a success. We'll see what this week brings.
Monday, June 10, 2013
Friday, June 7, 2013
A bit uncertain
Maybe it's best to start with the fact that I've only been cooking on a consistent basis for the past almost year and a half. What I have learned in this past year is that I do enjoy cooking but I don't want to spend all day in my kitchen. I enjoy good food and combining that with friends and family but I don't want to be stuck in the kitchen while everyone else is outside. The other piece of information you should know is that I'm definitely not the writer in my family. My sister and cousins have that more than covered. But I've been feeling a need to write and put this out there so here it is.
My sister is someone that loves to cook and that can spend the day in her kitchen. She prefers fresh and from scratch and she will experiment until she gets what she wants. My sister is also more adventurous when it comes to food than I am. For as long as she's been cooking, since we were kids, I have been one of her taste testers. She's not afraid to try new recipes and even just experiment on her own. All of this has led to her realizing that food is important to her and maybe something that should play a bigger role in her life and I support that.
I feel very different on this front though. I'm nervous to try new recipes not because of messing them up or anything like that but because I'm cooking for more than myself now. I don't want to cook a new recipe that my family may hate. This may seem silly but that's me. Also, I don't always want to cook from scratch. I like that I can go pull a box out of the cupboard and with just a few more things added I have a meal. Spending hours in the kitchen every evening doesn't appeal to me at all. I think that side of me comes from my mom. I love my mom's cooking and part of that I think is because her food is comforting but simple and convenient. None of those are bad things in my opinion.
The flip side of this is that I love weekend when friend and family come over and I get to cook for them. My sister said to me that she loves cooking for people but she doesn't want to entertain them. I think I want to do both. The difference is that I want to cook and enjoy it but don't like being stuck in the kitchen while everyone else is outside. I want to cook for you and be able to sit in front of a fire and have a drink with you too.
All of this rambling is to say that I enjoy cooking and even entertaining people but this is all new to me. I want to share the experience of learning to cook and become more confident in that while keeping it simple and hopefully comforting.
My sister is someone that loves to cook and that can spend the day in her kitchen. She prefers fresh and from scratch and she will experiment until she gets what she wants. My sister is also more adventurous when it comes to food than I am. For as long as she's been cooking, since we were kids, I have been one of her taste testers. She's not afraid to try new recipes and even just experiment on her own. All of this has led to her realizing that food is important to her and maybe something that should play a bigger role in her life and I support that.
I feel very different on this front though. I'm nervous to try new recipes not because of messing them up or anything like that but because I'm cooking for more than myself now. I don't want to cook a new recipe that my family may hate. This may seem silly but that's me. Also, I don't always want to cook from scratch. I like that I can go pull a box out of the cupboard and with just a few more things added I have a meal. Spending hours in the kitchen every evening doesn't appeal to me at all. I think that side of me comes from my mom. I love my mom's cooking and part of that I think is because her food is comforting but simple and convenient. None of those are bad things in my opinion.
The flip side of this is that I love weekend when friend and family come over and I get to cook for them. My sister said to me that she loves cooking for people but she doesn't want to entertain them. I think I want to do both. The difference is that I want to cook and enjoy it but don't like being stuck in the kitchen while everyone else is outside. I want to cook for you and be able to sit in front of a fire and have a drink with you too.
All of this rambling is to say that I enjoy cooking and even entertaining people but this is all new to me. I want to share the experience of learning to cook and become more confident in that while keeping it simple and hopefully comforting.
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