Monday, December 17, 2007

Cooking up a storm

Wonder of wonders, my claim to cook more once I moved into my new apartment is actually not total B.S.! I’ve been a baking more than ever, and Saturday night Todd and I whipped up a whole meal. I thank the fun food-related books I’ve been reading (and I still have two Ruth Reichl’s to go!), Dorrie’s blog, my slightly more user friendly kitchen, and the fun of cooking with another person instead of just with Camilla. She’s really not a lot of help, after all.

Todd and I found ourselves in Union Square on Saturday, so we decided to take advantage of our proximity to Trader Joe’s. We bought bottle after bottle of cheap wine to try, then ventured over to the food market to see what they had. We came home with the fixings for a meal that would easily have cost us twice as much at a restaurant: lemon and herb marinated ahi, mushroom risotto, green beans, and multigrain french bread. And, to top it off, we made (aka microwaved) mini chocolate lava cakes for dessert. I was impressed with our success; everything turned out really well!

Everything, that is, except my left thumb, which I, like a genius, stuck in the giant shaft of steam pouring up and out of my steamer. I’m not disheartened, though; all those Top Chef contenders are peppered with burn scars, proving that even the pros make these boneheaded moves now and again.

4 comments:

Tina said...

Well done you for starting to unleash your inner domestic goddess! :) I'm having 8 people over Thursday night and am making a Yankee Christmas complete with Mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and pumpkin pie! Wish me luck!!! And I'm so jealous that you have Trader Joe's!!

Dorrie said...

Yippee for you! I hope you had fun cooking - since that's what it should be about in the first place. I have so many burns on my arms and hands from bumping into the oven racks or just reaching in and grabbing something out of the oven without remembering hot pads. I think that's a sign of a good cook!

rg said...

Have you made Dorrie's sour cream bars? They are heavenly and so easy to make! I'm so glad you are cooking and baking. When do I get to come over for dinner? :)

Tori said...

I haven't made the sour cream bars yet, but I might add them to the baking extravaganza that will happen next weekend before heading to my sister's. I'll let you know how they come out!

Come over for dinner any time! We'll see how my new skills hold up with an audience. :)