COOKING FOR BOYFRIEND #1
Many women are poor cooks only because their native greatness
has been beaten down by ingratitude. ~Rev Robert Farrar Capon (1925 – )
Ever the experimental cook and game for almost any cooking challenge, I have always used the occasion of dinner guests as a reason to try something new. I know that this is not recommended behavior, but I gained confidence in cooking at a very young age and had the great fortune to be able to count on only three fingers the number of culinary failures in very many years.
One very long time ago, when I was preparing for a dinner at my boyfriend’s house for good friends of ours, I began by flipping through my cookbooks in search of something new to try. When he saw what I was doing, he was horrified.
“You mean you’re going to serve something you’ve never made before to our friends?” he asked, hoping for the answer I didn’t give.
“That’s how I get to try new things. It’s fun!” I smiled my most winsome smile and went back to my cookbooks.
Dinner was a success. I couldn’t figure out if he was happy that dinner was good or happy that he had been wrong.
Confidence goes a very long way in the kitchen. It’s only food, you can eat most of it raw. It only takes experience with the added elements of heat, time and other ingredients to produce cooked food. Multiply that three or four times and you have a meal. Cooking produces the desire to do more cooking. Eating has the same effect.
Today’s preparation, Pasta Carbonara, isn’t a dish I tried out on guests, but it is something I’ve never made before.  I prefer a linguini, fusilli or orecchiette, but you can use almost any kind of pasta you like. Give it a try and let me know what you think.
Thanks for the comment on my blog, first of all. It’s helpful to know others are in the same boat as you. You should absolutely attend IIN! It’ll change your life (and I’ve only gone one weekend, so far!).
I love your blog. I don’t even eat bacon or dairy, at the moment, but I appreciate the way you’ve broken down your ingredient list into different types of stores to shop from and that’s it a recipe for one. I have roommates and we all just cook for ourselves so it can be difficult and expensive, oftentimes, to cook huge meals just for myself.
Thanks and keep blogging!
Sheena´s last blog ..It’s Weighing Less On My Mind
I’m glad my site is useful and that the format works well for you. A friend suggested the single portions. Some preparations serve 2; there’s always lunch! Difficult to know how many to make for party foods but always easier to multiply than divide. Thanks for the encouragement. It is overwhelming at times (today is one of those) blog newbie that I am. Always more to learn. Feedback always welcome!