The Beauty of Food

No, not mine. Because we all know how mine turn out. I'm talking about those people that actually enjoy it (I know, right?) and make it into an art form. Those curious folk that look forward to getting their hands and hearts into something they truly love.

I don't get it, either.

I have one such friend, Bailey.  He's a very good friend, actually, and promises one day to travel to the US just to teach me how to enjoy it.

I say good luck.
lol

But it is so awesome to hear him talk about food. He's very passionate about it and honestly can't understand how I can't be the same way. Maybe it's something you're born with; or you stumble upon it by accident. Either way, it skipped me completely.  Let me show you some of the things he's shown me. I must say, they do look incredible. But to eat. Not to make. Chargrilled smoked salmon. Looks awesome, doesn't it?

Nothing simple about cheesecake with this enchanting view. Yes, I fell in love at first sight, as well. Almost don't want to ruin the view by eating it. Almost.

Never let it be said that Bailey doesn't have fun with his chosen profession. Here we have what he calls his "hamburger fort". (There is a child in all of us lol) Not exactly sure where he was going with this but it sure looks like fun!

Anyway. We all know how much I love to eat and beautiful looking dishes makes it that much more appealing. But now I know someone that actually makes these pretty pieces!

Bailey, teach me to enjoy it? Ha! I wish you the best. But it'll be an experience to watch you create such lovely dishes.

Potatoes: 1 Froggy: 0

Well. Just finished my second dinner.

Not so good. Not bad, mind you...but definitely not as happy with this one as I was with the first one. Most of it because of stupid mistakes on my part. Missed one thing on the recipe that might have made all the difference in the world. A baking DISH is different than a baking SHEET.

I used the dish instead of the sheet (could have sworn it said dish) so what I thought would be the easiest part of the dinner turned into the worse. Oven fried potatoes. Who but me could mess that up? And it's funny but I've cooked them before on the stove top and never had a problem. But I found a recipe that sounded really good (potatoes dipped in oil and lemon juice) and easy (just pop them into the oven). Maybe that was my mistake. Overestimating myself. Hmm...could be. Or maybe just trying too hard.

I also forgot the cooking spray. Made a list, put it on there, bought it at the store and even managed to bring it home. But forgot to use it. Did you know potatoes stick to aluminum foil? Yes, they sure do.

And because I used a dish instead of a sheet, the cooking time was altered. It said "twenty minutes" but they were so far from being done. I had to put the hamburgers aside so as not to burn while waiting for the potatoes.

They didn't taste TOO badly; just a little mushy in spots and hard in others. Next time, it'll be better.

Hey! But, surprising enough, the hamburgers turned out great! I didn't stuff them as I was going to originally but they were cooked evenly and were still juicy; even after sitting and waiting for the potatoes. Quite surprised. I used some steak sauce, some onion soup mix and swiss cheese and a few bacon bits for texture.

So, it wasn't a BAD meal but I expected better of myself with the potatoes. But then again, I didn't expect the hamburgers to go that well. I guess that balances out, right?

Anyway, thanks for joining me on this journey. Next time, I WILL win the battle over the potatoes!

The Second Attempt....

Okay. Found myself with a day off so I'm going to cook another meal. A lot different from the first; not only in the ingredients but in the WAY I'm going to do it.

The first dinner was made following the recipe explicitly. While I will have recipes for both my main dish and my side dish, I am also going to be adding my own signature to them. There is a little anxiety involved; hoping I don't screw it up to the point of being inedible. But my friend will be here to offer advice (you know, my guinea pig) and as long as I don't let myself become frazzled, I'm sure I'll be all right.

Not going into too many details right now because I honestly don't know exactly how I'm going to make them my own but on the menu tonight are hamburgers and oven fried potatoes. So, once again, wish me luck and I'll write more tonight on how it all turned out.

Where's the Fun?

Cooking should be fun, right? That's pretty much the whole point of what I'm doing. Learning to enjoy cooking so it's not so much of a chore.

My first dinner the other night went well; better than I had expected. And while there were some parts that were intense (trust me; for a non-cook like myself, boiling noodles successfully is intense) it wasn't fun.

Hmm. What can I do to make it more fun; thereby making me WANT to do it?

I was watching "Worst Cooks in America" last night on the Food Network channel and their first challenge was to create a hamburger with anything they wanted. This made me sit up. I've cooked hamburgers before; a means to an end as I've said previously. But to CREATE my own signature burger? Wow....the endless possibilities!

And if I can create my own burger, what next? Couldn't I create pretty much anything? No, I still don't know enough about flavors to know what would and wouldn't work but I'm pretty sure that's what most cooks enjoy. Making it their own.

Sure, I'm still going to use recipes. There are quite a few I've seen that seem a tad difficult but might be worth trying at least once. But I'm going to learn to be brave and try flavors that I normally wouldn't put together. Sort of like finger-painting as a child. Just let it flow!

So, as soon as I come up with a recipe, I will post and let everyone know. Wish me luck!