There’s a cooking school in my neighborhood, so I took a class last week in order to get me out of my rut of either ordering out (which is taking a huge bite out of my finances) or being in the same rut. Other than the $99 registration fee, I loved the class. I definitely got some ideas for new things to make, plus the instructor was really nice to me, and the people in my cooking group were great to talk with. If there’s one thing I really regret about my current social status as a hermit, it’s not being able to cook with other people (or for other people), because I always enjoy it so much. But now I have more confidence when it comes to purchasing and cooking meat and three new recipes to make by heart.
Also, I found a great Bistro style cookbook at the library and have made one of its soup recipes three times in the past month. It’s so easy and delicious – make soup stock from ham bone and then cook carrots, diced sweet anise, diced onion, and shredded cabbage. Totally filling comfort food. 7 years ago
The attempts so far were two recipes people have made for me: Alsatian Potato Casserole and French Onion Soup. I think in both situations, my habit of not following a recipe faithfully (and using substitutions rather than buying new ingredients) meant that they both turned out “okay,” but not the best things I’ve ever made. I don’t know if I’d serve them to somebody else. Also, I learned that in both recipes you have to spend a lot of time on the onions: dicing them (lots of tears) and then carmelizing them. I’m the type who prefers to let things simmer in a pot without constant attention, so for both recipes I put the onions in a pot with white whine and let them simmer. They turned out okay, but neither was really carmelized and that affected the overall depth of flavor in both dishes. Also, I am really lazy and didn’t want to bother with the last step in the soup – having it broil with the bread and cheese at the top of each bowl. I don’t even know if my dishes could survive the heat from that step, so I just had the soup with a grilled cheese sandwich instead.
Verdict – I like it when other people make these dishes (especially if they have more patience than I do) for me, rather than making them for myself. 7 years ago
try typing into a Google search the main ingrediants you have and the word recipe. You will be surprised to see what comes up. 8 years ago
