Ok, so you learnt to cook. You have your own little repertoire of favourites - spag bol, roast chicken, veg soup, perhaps meatloaf... you get the picture - now, the time has come to try something that will push you far outside your cooking comfort zone. Put DOWN the wine glass and breathe. There's no need to inhale the whole bottle :-) I promise that this won't hurt you! Much *shrug* :-) Ok, so to be honest, this could be the scariest thing you try in the kitchen for a while (no, cleaning the drain or the oven doesn't count. Sorry). So let's get this experiment on the road. How? Easy...
Here's how you get this challenge on the road... If you can't push yourself out of that cushy cooking rut (and let's be honest, if you could we wouldn't be having this conversation), invite some friends or family to dinner and ask them to write down their favourite dishes on bits of paper. Draw one of these out of a hat (or cup. No need to buy a hat specially) and that's the meal that will be your challenge. I'm not completely irrational... if you don't eat lobster or have an emotional issue with sticking live lobsters into a pot, simply draw another bit of paper. No, you can't carry on with this in the hope that someone wrote down "meatloaf"... But moving along...
Once you have your meal picked out, you'll need your recipe. Take a look around your kitchen for any books. If you don't see any, go through the rest of your home and examine all your bookshelves until you find what we're looking for. If we're lucky, someone, somewhere has given you one of those heavy, beautifully illustrated cookbooks which contain not only recipes, but everything from weight comparisons to a glossary of kitchen tools. You'll know you've found it because chances are it still smells like "new book" and hasn't been opened since you flipped through the pages and "oohed and aahed". If you hunt high and low and you don't find this book... well, then I'm sure that someone will get around to giving it to you eventually! Right now though, we need a recipe... so boot up your pc and head off to that indispensible tool that is "Google". Either way, you need to look up the dish in question (the one your dinner guest requested... keep up) and start by making a list of the ingredients that you'll need for this dish. Yes, all of them. What have I told you about the wine? Put. The. Glass. Down.
Ok, now that you have the recipe and the list, you need to check through your store cupboard, fridge and freezer to see what you already have in the house. This is important so that you don't end up buying unnecessary items or forgetting vital ones when you head for the store. You need only really do this the day before or the day of the dinner. Pay attention, because it is entirely possible that this recipe may contain ingredients that you've never heard of, let alone seen or used! Don't guess if you have them or not. Check. When you're done, head to the store. Not the corner cafe, you're going to need real supplies and fresh ingredients, so go to the main supermarket and get started. You're shaking your head. Sigh. I bet I can guess why. You're wondering how you're supposed to know where to find all these never before used ingredients right? (No need to look so surprised, I've done this before). You're not going to know where they are, so do yourself a huge favour and ASK someone! No, you will NOT look like an idiot. It will look far stranger if you spend 4 hours aisle surfing looking lost. Trust me!
Once you have your basket or trolley full of all the ingredients on the list, including the ones that look like they were delivered by extra's from a Star Wars movie or the ones that smell like old feet, I want you to channel your inner Santa and check it twice. Go item for item in the basket (or trolley) against the list until you're sure that you have it all (and in the right quantities) and then proceed immediately to the checkout point, pay for the items and head home. Do not pass shoes or bags, do not collect a pricey, unnecessary manicure! Once you get home, you're going to unpack the newly purchased groceries in the kitchen and get yourself ready ....
... to cook!
Coming in Part 2, "I've got the recipe and the ingredients... now what?!?!"
Back to basics ..... I love it this is going to be fun
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