Cooking
I've decided that I want to start cooking. Not sure exactly why, but I'm sure being tired of fast food all the time has something to do with it.
I don't want to make boring ass food, though. The problem with that, though, is I have pretty much never cooked. Never really thought cooking was hard... After all, I watched Jamie do it numerous times, and if she can do it ;)
I told my roommates that I would start cooking once a week when we moved into our new place. They know me too well, so they pretty much said, "bullshit... we'll believe it when we see it." (They’ve cooked for me a bunch of times, so I also feel I owe them one or two or 80 meals)
Well, we've moved in, everything is on order, which surprisingly took only one week, so it was time for me to put on the Iron Chef apron and with the shout of "Allez Cuisine" ringing in my ears, I started chopping, dicing, and mincing. Umm... the "Allez Cuisine" might not have happened, but I swear the rest is true.
What was I chopping, dicing, and mincing for you may ask. Well, as I said, I don't want to make boring ass food. I had enough hot dogs and tater tots growing up to know that shit is, well, shit. I wanted to make something challenging, or at the very least it needed to sound interesting.
So, I decided my first attempt would be fish. Fish is yummy. But, there are many ways to cook fish. So, with the help of www.allrecipes.com I chose to do sea bass Cuban style. Sounded yummy enough and it fit the "interesting sounding and/or challenging" requirement.
What does one eat with fish? Rice would be cool, but I wanted something that would make it more exotic. Steamed rice just wouldn't cut it next the exotic sounding Cuban sea bass. So, after much thought, I decided couscous. Not sure why other than it sounded exotic enough. I've only had it once, I think. More help from www.allrecipes.com allowed me to find a couscous recipe that sounded delicious. Lots of extras added to it.
Welp, now I needed a vegetable. Knowing I had already bitten off all that I could chew, I was happy when I found a nuke it recipe for asparagus. I know, I know. Nuking it sucks and is weak sauce, but whatever - the fish and couscous would be so time consuming.
Anyway, yesterday was the day. Until I actually went to buy everything, Andrea and Robert still had the "believe it when I see it buddy" attitude. After a stop at Race Street, Safeway, and Trader Joes ($2 Chuck, YO!!!), I was set. But, I ended up using tilapia instead of sea bass. Tilapia is $5 a pound and sea bass is $18. I wasn't too worried as I had read any white fish would work with the recipe.
When I made it home, Robert's doubts turned to concern as he was probably thinking, "Fuck, I hate fish. I'm worried I won't like it. No big deal, I'm sure Tom will end up fucking everything up and I'll get to eat pizza or something." He might not have been thinking that, but I would have if I were him.
I knew I had a lot of work to do, but I didn't think it would take nearly as long as it did. Tomatoes to chop, garlic to mince, onions to slice, olives to halve, and and and two hours later, the prep work was done. I really need to look into getting a sous-chef. Robert did offer to help, but I wanted my first cooking expedition to be solo. Next time, anyone that has at least one hand will be helping.
The kitchen was hectic. Trying to time everything turned out to be difficult, but I was able to figure it out - mostly. Of course, if the food tastes like ass, it doesn't matter if shit is timed perfectly. The judges for the night would be Andrea, Robert, and me. Yes, I can be an honest judge of my own cooking. I was starving by the time everything was ready. I decided to not eat all day to make sure I'd be hungry when the food was on. I didn't expect it would be 10pm when the food was ready, though. I was hella nervous when I put the plates in front of the judges. What if it tastes bad? What if they don't like it? Will they tell me the truth? Do I want them to tell me the truth? How much wine have I drunk? Is it that bad to drink red wine with fish?
It tasted wonderful
They liked it a lot (you can even ask them)
They did tell the truth
I would have wanted them to tell the truth if they didn't like it
Haven't drunk enough - (can one ever?)
You can have red wine with fish
The Verdict: a smashing success
I was surprised that the fish tasted good. It was the easiest thing to cook, but it was what worried me the most before I started. In the end, it was hella easy. The sauce for it ended up being *so* good.
The couscous was also really easy to cook.
The asparagus was nuked, so of course it was easy. It did taste good, too.
Ingredients:
Fish: Tilapia. white onions, garlic, tomatoes, dry white wine, green olives, red pepper flakes, fresh cilantro, olive oil, butter
Couscous: olive oil, garlic, red bell pepper, green onions, tomatoes, fresh basil, salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, Parmesan cheese (which I bought but forgot to use. woulda been good)
Asparagus: white wine, butter
Here are links to the actual recipes:
http://seafood.allrecipes.com/az/SBssCbnStyl.asp
http://sidedish.allrecipes.com/az/CmpnyCscs.asp
http://sidedish.allrecipes.com/az/ThBstStmdsprgs.asp
Not sure what next week will bring, but I am thinking Italian. Maybe meatballs or something.
I don't want to make boring ass food, though. The problem with that, though, is I have pretty much never cooked. Never really thought cooking was hard... After all, I watched Jamie do it numerous times, and if she can do it ;)
I told my roommates that I would start cooking once a week when we moved into our new place. They know me too well, so they pretty much said, "bullshit... we'll believe it when we see it." (They’ve cooked for me a bunch of times, so I also feel I owe them one or two or 80 meals)
Well, we've moved in, everything is on order, which surprisingly took only one week, so it was time for me to put on the Iron Chef apron and with the shout of "Allez Cuisine" ringing in my ears, I started chopping, dicing, and mincing. Umm... the "Allez Cuisine" might not have happened, but I swear the rest is true.
What was I chopping, dicing, and mincing for you may ask. Well, as I said, I don't want to make boring ass food. I had enough hot dogs and tater tots growing up to know that shit is, well, shit. I wanted to make something challenging, or at the very least it needed to sound interesting.
So, I decided my first attempt would be fish. Fish is yummy. But, there are many ways to cook fish. So, with the help of www.allrecipes.com I chose to do sea bass Cuban style. Sounded yummy enough and it fit the "interesting sounding and/or challenging" requirement.
What does one eat with fish? Rice would be cool, but I wanted something that would make it more exotic. Steamed rice just wouldn't cut it next the exotic sounding Cuban sea bass. So, after much thought, I decided couscous. Not sure why other than it sounded exotic enough. I've only had it once, I think. More help from www.allrecipes.com allowed me to find a couscous recipe that sounded delicious. Lots of extras added to it.
Welp, now I needed a vegetable. Knowing I had already bitten off all that I could chew, I was happy when I found a nuke it recipe for asparagus. I know, I know. Nuking it sucks and is weak sauce, but whatever - the fish and couscous would be so time consuming.
Anyway, yesterday was the day. Until I actually went to buy everything, Andrea and Robert still had the "believe it when I see it buddy" attitude. After a stop at Race Street, Safeway, and Trader Joes ($2 Chuck, YO!!!), I was set. But, I ended up using tilapia instead of sea bass. Tilapia is $5 a pound and sea bass is $18. I wasn't too worried as I had read any white fish would work with the recipe.
When I made it home, Robert's doubts turned to concern as he was probably thinking, "Fuck, I hate fish. I'm worried I won't like it. No big deal, I'm sure Tom will end up fucking everything up and I'll get to eat pizza or something." He might not have been thinking that, but I would have if I were him.
I knew I had a lot of work to do, but I didn't think it would take nearly as long as it did. Tomatoes to chop, garlic to mince, onions to slice, olives to halve, and and and two hours later, the prep work was done. I really need to look into getting a sous-chef. Robert did offer to help, but I wanted my first cooking expedition to be solo. Next time, anyone that has at least one hand will be helping.
The kitchen was hectic. Trying to time everything turned out to be difficult, but I was able to figure it out - mostly. Of course, if the food tastes like ass, it doesn't matter if shit is timed perfectly. The judges for the night would be Andrea, Robert, and me. Yes, I can be an honest judge of my own cooking. I was starving by the time everything was ready. I decided to not eat all day to make sure I'd be hungry when the food was on. I didn't expect it would be 10pm when the food was ready, though. I was hella nervous when I put the plates in front of the judges. What if it tastes bad? What if they don't like it? Will they tell me the truth? Do I want them to tell me the truth? How much wine have I drunk? Is it that bad to drink red wine with fish?
It tasted wonderful
They liked it a lot (you can even ask them)
They did tell the truth
I would have wanted them to tell the truth if they didn't like it
Haven't drunk enough - (can one ever?)
You can have red wine with fish
The Verdict: a smashing success
I was surprised that the fish tasted good. It was the easiest thing to cook, but it was what worried me the most before I started. In the end, it was hella easy. The sauce for it ended up being *so* good.
The couscous was also really easy to cook.
The asparagus was nuked, so of course it was easy. It did taste good, too.
Ingredients:
Fish: Tilapia. white onions, garlic, tomatoes, dry white wine, green olives, red pepper flakes, fresh cilantro, olive oil, butter
Couscous: olive oil, garlic, red bell pepper, green onions, tomatoes, fresh basil, salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, Parmesan cheese (which I bought but forgot to use. woulda been good)
Asparagus: white wine, butter
Here are links to the actual recipes:
http://seafood.allrecipes.com/az/SBssCbnStyl.asp
http://sidedish.allrecipes.com/az/CmpnyCscs.asp
http://sidedish.allrecipes.com/az/ThBstStmdsprgs.asp
Not sure what next week will bring, but I am thinking Italian. Maybe meatballs or something.