Now We're Cookin'

I love to cook.  I like reading cookbooks and any of them by America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Country are my favorites.  The Cook's Country cookbooks actually give a little history lesson on the dish itself and then the variations they tested before coming up with the final product.  I trust those recipes the most as they are, for the most part, foolproof.

When I want to cook something that is not in my most trusted, many times I will go online and find a few versions of the recipe.  Then I read the reviews and incorporate those until I have my own test variation.  Frank is my guinea pig and never seems to mind as we usually end up with something pretty good.

When it comes to the actual cooking, I like hearing the sizzle of chopped onion as it hits the hot olive oil.  I like how fragrant the house becomes as layer upon layer of flavor are added to the dish until I hear "Wow!!!" as Frank comes through the door after work.  Sometimes, he tells me, he can smell the dish all the way outside when he gets out of the vehicle.

I like the creation of cooking.  Taking a dozen ingredients that look like regular staples individually; melding a little of this, a pinch of that and a splash of 'what is that I taste?'.  Bringing it all together as a bubbling, delicious dish of 'We are sooooooo making this again!'

I like the camaraderie of cooking.  Thanksgiving, Christmas or even backyard get-togethers all seem to revolve around the kitchen.  I've heard it said time and time again, it doesn't seem to matter how big your home is, whenever people come over, they all seem to end up in the kitchen. 

But, I think the thing I love the most about cooking, is that if you cook, someone else does the dishes!!!