I saw Julie & Julia last week with Mum and sobbed like a child with my heart bursting the entire way through. I've always maintained an interest in food. The cooking of food, eating of cooked food, daydreaming about food and working with food, just food in general pleases me immensely. Having worked in a place for a few months now where good, wholesome, sometimes pretentious but always delicious food is readily available on tap has re-lit my interest in the culinary world. I've slowly but surely been learning from scratch about basic ingredients, equipment, spices, techniques, smells, tasting, chopping, mixing, basting from simply watching (in awe. I'd be sitting cross-legged at their feet if i could) the five incredible chefs doing what they do best in the kitchens at work and have decided that i actually want to be in on the action and start cooking.
I've always tried to cook. I love nothing better than cooking cakes, dinners, snacks for my friends. It makes me happy if someone is well-fed by my hands. I've just become so incredibly LAZY. Watching the glorious masterpiece's waft out of the kitchen and being able to taste and savour each one everyday has made me reluctant to come home and create my own. Why would i bother? It's that damned film! It's made me realise i should using my creative talents to make the world fat and happy. So i did a little research, looked at a few bits and pieces purchased a 'From Scratch' cook book and started pestering the chefs at work. (What are you doing? Why are you doing that? What is Braising? How do i poach an egg?) I'm pretty sure I'm going to get thrown in the deep fryer for annoying them soon. I vow to start cooking myself new and exciting dinners every night, to start using lovely fresh ingredient's and stop buying things from effing packages, or ordering take-out.
In saying all that, i haven't really started cooking yet. I have watched a shit-load of Julia Child videos on YouTube, and bought Mastering the Art of French Cooking (both volumes) off Amazon AND to make things worse, in the last few days i have baked cupcakes out of a PACKET and ravioli out of a PACKET. Terrible. I haven't even started yet and I'm already cheating.
I think tomorrow I'm going to start with the basics. The omelette should be the simplest thing.
4 Eggs
4 tb Water
1/4 ts Salt
Pepper
2 tb Butter
Beat eggs lightly, add salt, pepper and water and
mix well. Melt butter in an omelet pan and allow
it to become quite hot without browning. Pour in
the eggs and stir gently until they begin to set.
Now push the omelette down to one side of the pan
that it may be thick and puffy, tilting the pan to
keep it at one side. Cook until just set in the
center and golden brown on the side next to the
pan. Turn onto a dish, brown side up and serve
plain or with tomato or other sauce.
OH GOD.
What was for dinner tonight? INCREDIBLE Duck Ragout with Hand Made Gnocchi and some Pan-Fried Haloumi. No, i did not make it. But i know the guys that did.
(I did make these though)
MEEP.
