Culinary Student and Teacher in One

I cannot cook for the life of me. Just ask Thomas; I've made him eat so many disgusting dishes that I've ruined over the years. There was the time I tried to make a cheesey broccoli stir-fry and added 3x as much velveeta as the recipe called for...it was basically velveeta soup with bits of chicken and veggies. Then there was the time I tried to make him breakfast...I burnt virtually everything on the plate...even the toast. There was one time the food turned out okay...but then I burnt my hand on the oil in the pan and now have a scar because of it. The nights I attempt to cook dinner for him, we usually end up at Taco Bell.

Bottom line, my cooking skills really need to improve before I marry the love of my life. Poor Thomas. He really got the short of the stick when it comes to settling for me. But, I've been practicing...and improving! Not to mention, I got this super cute apron that totally boosts my self-esteem in the cooking department. ;)

So, back to the practicing! It helps because this year I am in an apartment instead of a dorm room. This means I get a full kitchen! I actually have space and a facility for cooking! Complete with stove, oven, and a humungo refrigerator - great for storing cooking supplies! I also invested in some key kitchen appliances, since I have the room to store them this year. I don't know what my favorite is: my George Foreman grill or my Ninja blender. Both are perfectly amazing. With my George Foreman, I can grill myself up a BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger in no time and it tastes like I'm out at Red Robin...Yuummmm! :) With my Ninja, well my Ninja is perfect for all those girls nights - smoothies and chick flicks!

I've practiced simple cooking things, like grilling on my George Foreman or boiling pasta (I have now discovered the importance in adding salt to the water when you boil pasta). But there have been a couple times where I've actually cooked a full meal! Once, I (successfully) made pan-fried chicken complete with mashed potatoes and ceasar salad. It was delish, if I do say so myself. Another time I made an entire breakfast for my entire staff! I made pancakes, fried bacon, and cooked eggs all by myself! Then, just last night, I decided to try making some enchiladas! I was really stressed about this one because I was using a recipe from my aunt - and I LOVE this recipe, so I had pretty high standards! Well, they turned out PERFECTLY! They were delicious! Even my girls said so. I was pretty happy with myself! My skills are improving! Next weekend, I'm going to tackle another full entre, I just haven't decided what yet.

I think what's been helping me improve my skills (or lack thereof) is this amazing cookbook I bought over the summer when I was in the Dells. This is my kitchen Bible. The best part about this cookbook is not the incredible amount of recipes that is full of. Instead, it is this awesome introduction section that it has. This introduction is full of incredibly helpful hints and tips for cooking. Some of the key sections I like (and find incredibly useful) are:

• The Kitchen Toolbox: This explains essential tools you need in your kitchen and how to use each one. It has everything from different kinds of spoons, bakeware, pots & pans, appliances, and so much more!
• The How-to Section: Pretty self explanatory, but probably my favorite part of the book and the most important. It tells you how to do literally everything. From cleaning, peeling, and coring every kind of fruit and veggie you can think of, to measuring, to softening butter and cream cheese, to using different kinds of knives - do you have any idea how many different kind of knives there are out there?? A lot.
• Top Ten Tricks Only the Pros Know: A pretty dang cute, and helpful, section. Helpful tips that even your mom or grandmother may not know. For instance, love french breads? Everyone does right? But because they contain virtually no fats (appartently) they dry out after only a day. No problem! Spritz it with water and warming in the oven for about ten minutes and voila! Fresh bread again!
• Ask Mom: At the bottom of every recipe is the "Ask Mom" section. Obviously, these are simply little questions that normally you would call your mom for when cooking, such as: what is mincing and how do I mince garlic? Or what does it mean to dredge? I love this section!

As you can tell, I am in love with this book. And for anyone trying to learn to cook (or just interested in some delicious food) I highly recommend you invest this book. Oh! Did I mention it comes with a DVD? Yes, it does. I haven't watched it, but I'm sure it's just as awesome as the rest of the book. The DVD is the "How-To" section of the book, so I'm sure it's incredibly helpful. Oh, and every recipe is rated on a scale of 1 to 3 based on difficulty, with 3 being the most difficult, so you can easily decide which recipes to try first.

My goal? Continue using this book to become the world's next Top Chef! Okay, maybe not that great of a cook, but I wan't to be pretty dang accomplished. Because, as we all know, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach...and my man has a big heart, so he's gonna need a lot of grub!