...Recipe Catch-Up...

Many might relate to a busy schedule. I am one of those who has a schedule that is highly demanding. This can make cooking difficult and brings on several short cuts and improvisations. Over the past several weeks, since the chocolate cake, I am cooked several other recipes from Southern Livings 40 Best. In other words, I have been busy and need to catch up on my entries. Here are a few of the things I've made recently:

Cherry, Walnut, Pork Fillets- This is not a picture of my actual loins that I made, I keep forgetting to take pictures before I eat. These are a bit frustrating to make because I didn't have cherries or walnuts, nor did I have time to get to the store for a purchase. What I did have was Apricots and chopped Hazelnuts. I still tried to put all the effort and love into them that they, and my husband, deserve. The process of preparing them taught me about why we wrap meat with string (to keep juices locked in tight) and why it is good to sear the meat in a pan before cooking it in the oven (again, to lock in juices). This recipe challenged my thinking because I had to play dress up and improvise. Luckily, it still tasted good. Next time, I think I will follow the recipe with cherries and walnuts and I believe I will like the taste much better.

Roasted Potato Salad- To accompany the Pork, I roasted red potato quarters in a lemon, herb, sauce. I Added the bacon, but left the spinach out of the scene and served it hot! it was a great salty company to the sweet pork. I was unsure about the lemon herb sauce it called for, but I think I would make it again...just add less mustard. Either way, these potatoes tasted good, but had me a bit un-easy the whole time I made them and ate them.

On another Occasion I made Italian burgers. These were very different from your McDonald's Big Mac and probably twice as good. They are chalked full of Parmesan cheese, parsley, garlic and Italian bread crumbs. What made them fun and unique to make was the tomato sauce, provolone cheese and toasted English muffins to put them all together. They sounded weird, but tasted scrumptious! I felt like a true Italian cook, expressing and discovering some new form of Italian cooking. I do not have a picture of them, but trust me, a picture would do no justice to their taste.

Overall, the past few weeks have been ups and downs, but I am still trekking through this, so far good, cook book. My hope is that I become more able to branch out on creativity of food and in my entries. There is much to this blogging world that I do not understand :) For now...keep dining and explore the world of southern cooking!

...Wisking Up Purpose...

I was recently challenged by my neighbor to come up with a goal or purpose for my entries. It’s a good question: why are you cooking through a book and what do you hope for it to lead to?

Well…I don’t expect much from people reading this blog, I’ve always written for myself as kind of a therapeutic outlet. I do want my children to read all my old journals so they know who I am, where I have come from and what I care about most. This kind of blog is different than that though. It’s not about how many people will read, respond, or try cooking. What it MIGHT be is an attempt to express how cooking is tied to emotions, at least for me.

When I make a chocolate cake, I don’t just make a chocolate cake. I make it for some one or some thing. I make the cake one pain-saking, ingredient at a time. Careful to put much effort, precision and love into everything I make, I hope to give that cake, or that roast, or those yummy hamburgers to someone that will love it as much as I loved making it. After I cook, I can’t eat right away because of the differing emotions that were all fluttering around while I skillfully spread the frosting. I can’t eat until someone else has had a bite and is satisfied with the taste. I get nervous cooking for other people. I get excited as they reach for the first bite. I get humble if they tell me how good it is. Then…I get relief when I get to try a bite for myself…which usually comes with a comment of my own critique shortly after (we are our worst critics after all).

So…my hope is that some will read about my cooking, but that others will pick up on the emotions behind cooking. Yet, while others will endeavor to take up cooking for themselves and see what emotions they too can muster up while brazing a turkey!