My approach to cooking in the real world
I love to cook and sometimes I think it is the thing I do best. I by no means cook as well as a professional chef or someone with formal culinary training. But at the same time, I am confident enough in my ability that I would not be afraid to cook for a professional chef. I cook for the most basic reasons: to feed my family, my friends and my guests and because I enjoy it. I do not create elaborate feasts or invent new recipes. Yet, almost every day, I put a delicious, balanced meal on the table for my family with a minimum of stress. And if you come to my house for a meal or a party, believe me, you are going to like what you eat. I am what I call a confident home cook.
What is a confident home cook? A confident home cook:
- Can go from “what’s for dinner?” to a healthy, tasty meal on the table in about an hour.
- Knows how to stock her pantry, her fridge and her freezer in order to achieve the above without running to the store every day for last-minute ingredients.
- Feels secure in her ability to throw a dinner party, contribute to a bake sale, and host the book club – at least from a food perspective. (The confident home cook might be a little bit embarrassed about how her living room looks. She loves to cook, not decorate, okay? So, she distracts her guests from the fact that her living room has an old couch, a Thomas the Tank Engine train table and not much else by serving delicious food.)
- Cooks efficiently to minimize waste and knows how to make the best of leftover food or ingredients. For example, if the confident cook uses six egg yolks to make lemon curd for the book club meeting, she knows to save the whites from those six eggs to make meringues later in the week. And, if there is half a bottle of red wine left over from the Saturday dinner party, the confident cook knows three different recipes to use that wine up the following week. ( The beef stew pictured above is one of my favorite uses for leftover red wine.)
- Uses recipes as inspiration but does not treat them like gospel. This may well be the most important aspect of being a confident cook. A confident cook reads a recipe and understands the purpose of each ingredient and each step – assuming we are talking about a regular recipe in a regular cookbook here, not a recipe from The Big Book of Molecular Gastronomy. That way, if she does not have one or more of the ingredients called for in the recipe, she can choose an appropriate substitute, or decide that, in fact, she really needs to make something else. It is this skill that allows the confident cook to tailor cookbook recipes to her family’s tastes. Of course, another aspect of being a confident cook is the ability to choose good recipes in the first place.
- Has a niche or something she is well-known for. Maybe everyone raves about her decadent turtle cheesecake, or her secret family gingersnap recipe. Or, perhaps she is an expert in regional Mexican cuisine, rolls her own sushi or knows how to make homemade jam and preserves. (Hint, that last one is my niche.) The point is, the confident home cook has a reputation as a good cook.
How did I become a confident cook? First, I was raised in a family for whom good food was important. My mother, who always worked outside the home, cooked real meals from real ingredients almost every night and she made more elaborate meals, often steeped in family tradition, for holidays and dinner parties. With this background, it is not surprising that I started cooking for myself in college and law school when most of my friends were eating subs and pizza every night. That gives me some fifteen years of cooking experience to draw on. And lastly, because I enjoy food and cooking so much, I am always trying to learn more and improve. I buy cookbooks and food magazines; I watch cooking shows; I read food blogs.
That being said, I believe that becoming a confident cook is within anyone’s reach. To be a professional chef, you have to have talent and a creative gift. To be a confident home cook, you basically just need to practice. In this blog, I will try to share some of the tricks and techniques that work for me. Perhaps they will help you become a confident cook, if you are not one already. And, maybe, in return, one of you can help me decorate my living room.
That’s a pretty stiff list — I’m not sure I meet all of those! Congrats on the blog (and you’ll probably get sucked into some photography obsession, just warning you!)
Puh-leese! You are in a totally different category of cook: the one who makes up her own recipes.
Do you really think that’s a stiff list? Which requirement is the hardest for you?
You got it mostly right: I have TWO old couches (from two different relatives) and a Thomas the Tank Engine train table in my living room….and not much else. But none of my guests have ever talked with their mouths full of yummy food to complain.
Well, Kas, my living room is basically a furniture warehouse…with a very beautiful piano. I actually hesitate to host events sometimes because of it, but for the preschool board, it’s okay. And the good food does help.
Well, let’s see — while I can sometimes improvise meals I usually plan them for the week – I don’t have a ton of “staples” in my pantry (and yet it is overflowing, hmm, must address this).
I do have the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies on hand at all times, though.
I also don’t have a signature or niche, really. I mean, I cook, but I don’t have that thing I bring.
Kate, I think for a cook as accomplished as you, the niche is not as necessary. You’re probably known for making something amazing, like that cake you served the book club!
My mother never cooked, maybe that is why I’m not a confident cook. I can cook, I do cook, but I depend heavily on packaged and processed foods – or the crock pot.
Jill, the working mom has the hardest time accomplishing the first part of being a confident cook. But it can be done without relying too much on pre-packaged food. No shame in using the crockpot –although I don’t own one myself and would have no idea what to do with one. I am going to be posting some recipes that I think would work for you.
Welcome to the world of blogging!
I aspire to become a confident cook some day. I suppose I should just dive in and do it!
Wife and Mommy, thanks for the welcome. Dive in indeed. I will try to be providing hints that will help anyone be a confident cook.
Great first post.
You’re making me feel better about my own abilities. I don’t have a niche, but there’s always time for that.
Lolavix, The niche is the most fun! People tease me about canning because it’s somewhat unusual around here, but they always love to eat my creations!
ok, I’m hooked because of the photo of the beef stew
that’s one of my favorites!
I love this: “Uses recipes as inspiration but does not treat them like gospel.” that’s very much my cooking approach too.
can’t wait to follow along!
Well, you know I’m am NOT a confident cook, but Hans is, and I’m always in awe of how quickly he can whip up a good meal. I hope you’re right, and that it IS within my reach. I look forward to your tips.
Great first post. I have always been in awe of what you are able to whip up on a regular basis. I can cook, but I have no idea how to NOT follow a recipe unless I have made it at least 5 times before.
Can’t wait to follow along!
I’m friends with kas and found your blog through her twitter when she “Follow Fridayed” you. I like what I’m reading! I aspire to be a confident cook and I think I’m about halfway there. This is good, IMO, considering 5 years ago I basically knew how to cook boxed macaroni and cheese and that’s it.
Hi Christi! I think you are my first visitor who was not already an online friend of mine. Thanks for stopping by and the comment. What inspired you to branch out from box mac n’ cheese five years ago? Hope you keep reading!
I love your blog design. It is so chic, and so uncluttered. I also agree that more people need to become confident home cooks. It’s just a matter of getting out there. Great post.
Vanessa, thanks for your comment. I think my blog design is uncluttered only because I don’t know how to add much more! But I’m glad you like it. Hope to see you again.
Great blog, Emily! I love this post – and the Oscar fashion one too – you are an interesting and entertaining writer. And having been the beneficiary of several of your meals and jams, I know that you know your stuff! I aspire to be a confident cook so I am looking forward to reading more about this on your blog. I would say that I have about 10 go-to meals and can throw a mean dinner party with a no-fail prime rib recipe, but need help in the planning and stocking the pantry fronts for day-to-day meals. Happy blogging!
I think you know me from WC. I recognize your name. I realized I needed to learn to cook when my oldest kid was no longer content with finger foods.
Emily, this reminds me of my friend Brad’s post on cooking as an “act of devotion” for his family. http://blog.bradrourke.com/2010/01/14/cooking-with-brad-nourishing-my-family-as-an-act-of-devotion/
Sutton, that’s a great post. Thanks for sharing. I too love feeding my family. I think my husband’s act of devotion is to give the baths in this family. I hate bathing the kids for some reason.
LOVE your blog, Em. You’re a fabulous cook. And don’t you dare touch those curls with a silly $400 blowout.