I figured since I am now living on my own for the first time, I should try and be a little more "domesticated". I tried my hand in the whole cleaning business and I'm really getting the hang of it, my Swiffer and I are now really good friends. I knew I couldn't stop at cleaning though, I needed to keep going and the kitchen was calling my name.
Now you need to know some things about why I was scared to enter the kitchen. First off my father is a really good cook, the guy lives for the kitchen. The food network is always on in the house. He's always trying to make new things and is very successful with the outcome. My family is always raving about his cooking. My mom is the master at putting meals together in twenty minutes and making it look easy, and her meatloaf and shepards pie are things I dream about on a daily basis. Then their is my boyfriend's mom, she is also a great cook, she makes amazing sauce and her chicken cutlets and meatballs are something I look forward to every weekend. Lastly,their is my sister, need I say more? This pretty lady is a beast in the kitchen and could make Betty Crocker look like an amateur. I can't even begin to talk about her baking because it makes me very hungry.
So now you see why I might be a little nervous to step foot in the kitchen, I had a lot to live up to. I was petrified that I'd somehow poison my boyfriend and ruin his professional career. But I knew I had to face my fears, if I could conquer cleaning, could cooking really be that hard?
"Start off easy", that's the best advice I've ever received when it came to cooking. But I thought starting off easy might mean picking up the phone and ordering take-out, but calling a restaurant in Greece with the language barrier scared me more then cooking.
So I decided for my first dinner, that I'd prepare grilled chicken (easy), pasta (easy) and some frozen veggies(easy). I had everything set up in front of me, like I was on the Rachael Ray show or something, but who was I kidding? The minute I touched the raw chicken I wanted to hurl, it was so mushy and slimy. I was so scared that I was going to get salmonella poisoning, that after every piece I sliced I was scrubbing my hands like my life depended on it. Once that was done, it was time to throw that chicken on the pan of scalding olive oil. I must of had the burner on to high because the minute I put that chicken on the pan, I felt like I was being shot! The oil was spitting up at me telling me, "Ha, I told you you couldn't cook." My common sense led me to the burner and I turned it down a notch, take that oil.
From there on out things were pretty easy, I put the pasta into the pot once the water boiled, I even added a little salt because I heard that the pasta won't stick together if you do. The veggies were looking good simmering on the pan and there was a pleasant aroma in the kitchen. Could I actually be mastering the art of cooking on the first try? Maybe I was on my way to becoming the next Julia Child and I didn't even know it. My own cookbook, television show on the Food network, my own restaurants across the globe. I was getting way to ahead of myself with all of that, I still needed to actually try the food.
I set the table and placed the food down. I was really nervous for my boyfriend to eat it, I remembered that I was trained in CPR and the heimlich maneuver in case he choked. But surprisingly he smiled and kept shoving that food down his mouth, I didn't know if he was trying to eat it all really fast because it was horrible and wanted to get it over with or if he was really enjoying it. When he finally came up for air, he told me, "you did good, that was delicious." As much as I loved that he said that, I was hoping he didn't because now I knew I didn't stink and might be led into the kitchen again after this rare occurrence.
It's actually looks kind of yummy.
I guess it's good to try new things, I'm happy I didn't burn the apartment complex down. I find it hilarious that I get excited to go food shopping and to decide what I am going to cook for dinner. I don't know if I'll ever be a master chef, but cooking is a great thing to know how to do. I know it will be fun to cook my first Thanksgiving dinner, I heard pulling the neck out of the turkey is awesome. I have three weeks to prepare myself for that one.
Happy Cooking.
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