Rediscovering Cooking

I moved to Canada, got a job, bought a house, and decided to rediscover cooking. On a shopping trip for housewares, I perused the cookbook section of the store and found a likely guide to my new interest. It was an attractive cookbook with coloured pictures (necessary for inspiration and comparison to what I actually produce).  The lists of ingredients was short and readable. It was cheap. I bought it.
 

First I tried the Thai pumpkin curry. That was excellent. Not too difficult. Got rave reviews. Then I tried a Banana Rum dessert. Yummy!  Next was the Chicken Pesto and Mozzarella Panini.  Kids were in heaven. I became a hero when I discovered the Fruit Cobbler. From there it went on: Cuban Beef Picadillo, Spinach, Pear and Walnut salad.  Suddenly, I could accept invitations to book clubs without fear of the obligatory dish to pass.  I could show up at someone’s dinner party with a real, homemade dessert.  Things were humming.

I got a part-time seasonal job at Chapters.  Ooooh, now I could replace my tatty old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook from university with the deluxe gift edition in hardcover.  I added Beef Stroganoff, Fajitas, Ham and Swiss Quiche, Giant Ginger Cookies, and Coconut Macaroons (the egg white kind) to my repertoire.  I no longer feared dinner parties. I could chat with the foodies at lunch.

Last weekend, my parents celebrated their 50^th anniversary which involved me hosting a dinner party for 10 people and 2 dogs on Friday night (Thai Chicken Curry with Pumpkin) and a dinner party for 17 people and 5 dogs on Saturday night (shish kabobs, rice pilaf, Greek salad). I have a very small house. In the past, this kind of event would have turned me into an anti-cooking werewolf of fearsome nastiness. However, this year, we had a delicious meal, everyone was delighted with the menu, they were fed to the gills, all was peace and harmony, and I no longer fear hosting family celebrations.

There’s so much good in re-discovering the simple joy of preparing and eating food.  If you haven’t yet discovered how great it feels to make a dish that looks delicious and tastes like you went to a schmancy restaurant, I suggest getting your hands on the book that started it all for me: the Weeknight Cookbook from Williams-Sonoma.  

Look at the pictures. Choose one that has ingredients that you think you can handle. See what happens.  There’s a nice sense of accomplishment in knowing you can arrive at a dinner party with a main dish or a salad or a dessert or an appetizer that you actually did not purchase.  You no longer have to sign up to bring the plastic forks for potlucks. And it’s great when you can entertain 17 people and 5 dogs for a family celebration and come out smiling.