You may not know this, but I really like to cook. If I get to use my french chef knife and chop, I'm a happy girl. Of course, there is a vast difference between liking to cook and being a good cook. One is a hobby, the other something you are born with. If I am totally honest with myself, I fall into the first category. Neither watching the Food Network (which I do) nor reading Everyday Food Magazine (which I also do) can instill that intuition needed for the art of seasoning, knowing what ingredient is missing, or when to just let it be.
Two of my greatest fears in life are #1 that I will take someone a meal because they had a baby, or sickness etc and I give them food poisoning. #2 would be that they see I signed up to take them a meal and they all groan and say "she is the worst cook in the world and doesn't even know it!" Is it possible to be a bad cook and never know it?
With all the snow and ice this week my shopping has been limited to milk, a cantaloupe, a package of chicken and cookies. Two packs. They were on sale, 2 for $5. It's been a week for pulling things out of the freezer and rummaging the pantry when it came time to prepare meals. Tonight I planned to make one of my favorite dishes, a Hungarian dish that my grandmother used to make and that my mom makes now called Papricka Chicken. It doesn't require too many ingredients and is a rich, comfort meal for a cold night. To start off the dish you brown bacon and onions in a pan. I guess I needed to lower the heat because my bacon and onions got a tad too dark. In fact they were bordering on burnt. Once I added the other ingredients that make the sauce the chicken is cooked in, it definitely looked a lot darker than my mom's does when she makes it. Ok, it looked a lot blacker, but when I tasted it, it wasn't too bad. I could only taste the overcooked bacon and onion ever so slightly and it was definitely still going on the table. I served it with egg noodles, those flat kinda curly ones.
Tony was running late so we started supper without him. Jacob got about one bite into it before he opted to eat his peas first- this from a boy who usually needs the encouragement of a wooden spoon sitting by his plate to get the peas off his plate and into his mouth. And then, in a moment so horrifying it seemed more like a bad dream than reality, Jacob said "That chicken is gross." I stared at him. He said it again. I blinked. And a third time "that chicken is gross". And there you have it, I sat there deflated, wounded, demoralized. Hard to believe this kid turned food critic is the same one who thought nothing of eating cold french fries out of the trash can not that long ago. Even harder to believe was that I was happy when he learned to talk.
For the record, Tony, who would rather eat JohnBoy's Country Cooking than mine any day of the week said it tasted fine. But he didn't get seconds. Hmmm....
You. Are. Hilarious. At least you're a good writer :)
ReplyDeleteI could have written your post. I feel the same way. I am really good at following a recipe (one with about 4 ingredients!). For the record, I have been following your cooking...and you are way better than you give yourself credit for. It's like everything else, with enough practice, you will get it. And, for the record, I am sure your rejects taste better than my dinners that I put on the table! :)
ReplyDeleteWendy
Jenny, i think of you as a gourmet cook. Seriously. Everything you have made that I have eaten I liked a lot. Plus, you really make an effort. I have gotten lazy about cooking - you have inspired me to put forth more effort. Although, if you ask Zac, he may not have noticed this effort yet. :)
ReplyDeleteJenny, I agree with Dawn that she thinks of you as a gourmet cook and I know I am responsible for some of my son's tastes because I am not a gourmet cook; however, that does not make everything you make bad. I have never eaten anything you made that I didn't like.
ReplyDelete