How I Learned To Cook

I love food!  I love trying new recipes, flavors, ingredients.  But unlike what many people think, I didn’t grow up knowing about gruyere cheese, chipotle peppers, prosciutto, or anything leafy green, (see Kale, Swiss chard, spinach etc).  I remember the first time I went out to a restaurant with a friend and they ordered a steak.  When I saw it was pink inside, I was convinced they were crazy and going to get very sick! (if my parents read this… sorry)

I started really getting into food in college.  I was introduced to things like homemade alfredo sauce, authentic Latin cuisine, and chocolate mousse!  I had to learn more.  I started watching the Food Network. Okay, I started watching the Food Network a lot.  I learned about Thai food for the first time.   I learned real Italian food was more than spaghetti noodles with a jar of sauce on top, and that over well done is not the proper way to cook a steak.  And then, I started to cook.

There was a lot of trial and error, emphasis on the error.  I never really liked following a recipe completely (my husband says it’s something about control), so it may have taken me some extra time and errors, but I finally feel like I’m starting to get a handle on some things. I love recipes and there is nothing wrong with them, I just enjoy tailoring them to my specific tastes.   I still have the errors at times, which taught me not to try something new and adventurous for the first time when friends are coming for dinner.  But I was watching the food network one day and Guy Fieri said something to the effect of, if you aren’t making mistakes in the kitchen, you aren’t trying enough.  That has become very encouraging for me.

What taught me the most was watching Good Eats.  It is a 30 minute cooking show on the Food Network by Alton Brown.  What is unique about this show, is it actually goes into the science of cooking. Things like why you should brown meat first, why you shouldn’t over stir mashed potatoes, why salt is important, and many more.  I’m a bit of a geek, studying science in college, so I could really relate to these shows.  If you have never seen an episode, you should really check it out.  It’s quirky, entertaining, and you learn a lot.  Watching these episodes, are reading his books taught me HOW to cook.  I was also watching Rachel Ray, and still do.  Her cooking shows often have interesting, inventive ingredient combinations.  She showed me WHAT to cook when I wanted to be creative. 

Over the past couple years, I have also read a lot of cookbooks.  I like to read them cover to cover, even though I know that’s weird.   Food magazines are good too.  I read these to get ideas.  Sometimes I will make a recipe as is (with at least one change), sometimes I just pull something out of a random place inside my brain.  Most of the time, I read it and think, oh, it would be so good if I added this, took out that, swapped this, made it into a soup, etc.  I also like looking at the pictures of recipes.  I don’t much like recipe books without them.  Believe it or not, pictures give me a lot of ideas too. 

I write all this to say, I’m not some cook who went away to culinary school to learn this. I’ve just spent time watching shows and reading about food because it is my favorite hobby.   My recipes aren’t ‘inspired’ by any means either.  I just like to compile what I read and make something I want out of it.  You won’t see me using strange intimidating ingredients.  I use what I can find at the regular grocery with the rare exception of some international ingredients.  My techniques are also things anyone can do… I learned them from watching TV.  It’s just me sharing my food, the way I like it, so you can enjoy it too!