cooking exploits
When I was younger I would marvel at my sister's culinary skills and desperately try to repeat them. Bethany was the amazing chocolate chip cookie maker of which when I duplicated the SAME RECIPE would come out with crispy flat sad looking cookie like things. Elise was the master of banana bread, adding a bit of her own twist to the classic formula that she graciously shared with me. Of course, to no surprises on my end, my version of the banana bread would harden after so many hours and become petrified in a matter of days. Very sad for me.
All this time I was looking to make something my mother could be proud of and my father could bring to work for his secretaries to fawn over like they did for my sister's creations. I had worse luck with making brownies from scratch, where not only did the center fall to the bottom of the pan, but the removal process from said pan left the sad brownies in an even more sad looking state.
My baking adventures seemed to only be disastrous.
But with persistence, I've asked my mother to teach me a few things about cooking over the past two summers with success. I now am learning the process and the chemistry to cooking and baking that probably led my former catastrophes to such a bitter sweet ending.
Now in college dating a man with a kitchen I've been spending my free moments during the weekend finding my domesticated side making those infamous chocolate chip cookies and banana bread and even spreading my tastes to a few new things. I've especially made use of a wal-mart bought mini muffin tray that i've created lemon poppy seed muffins and mini muffin shaped brownies in. Wildly successful I highly recommend them. However, be sure to note that depending upon the recipe you will be making many more muffins in mini form than in regular, and one box of brownie mix for a 9 by 9 or so inch tray will make about 21 or so mini muffin shaped brownies. Their cooking time is also much faster.
Thankfully, I'll be able to take these skills and the cookware I've been collecting to my new apartment next year. My current roommate Kasey and a former floor mate Katie-Mae will be occupying the top floor triple suite of 514 Euclid next year and hopefully through our senior year as well. Of course, Kasey and I hope to spend our Fall semester of '09 in London pursuing our respective communications careers hosted through Newhouse. So subletting is in the cards for that one, but luckily I know good hearted girls from First Year Players that are planning on being over seas bound in the spring. Very exciting
I'll be sure to post pictures of my next cooking escapades.
posted by Bananerama @ 1:13 PM
2 Comments:
Ok, so some of your baking attempts needed more practice, but I distinctly remember highly successful efforts at chili and spaghetti, wonderful salads, and a variety of other offerings which I gladly gobbled down at the dinner table.
Just as there is no good writing (repeat after me - "only good re-writing" - thank you), there are few initial attempts at culinary creations which are perfect from the start. Good chefs (and savvy moms) tinker with recipes, adding new special ingredients or tweaking the measurements, temperature or time as they develop their signature dishes. As you are now discovering, those personalizations of recipes make things even more special - as special as the cook.
Now you, Kasey and Katie-Mae can look forward to the opportunity to each establish your own specialty in your Euclid Avenue apartment next year.
Might I warn you that stories of your cooking flops will be discussed at Thanksgiving adnauseum for the rest of your life. Remember the spaghetti mush? Paula Dean at lunch was your turning point. A stick of butter makes every dish delicious. If that is not available; use sour cream or cream cheese.
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