Now I've done it. Exposed myself.
I gave directions, from my perch on the couch, to hubby on how to cook the chicken. He went to the store and bought one of those bags of Cesar Salad mix and decided to make some instant mashed potatoes to go with the chicken thighs.
We have a friend who is just now single again. (Divorce) He is hopeless in the kitchen but he told my hubby that instant mashed potatoes were easy to make. Dumbplumber said: "If Don can do it, so can I."
So....he lined the roasting pan with foil, rubbed the thighs with Dijon Mustard, sprinkled each one with some brown sugar, salt and pepper and put them in the oven at 350 for 35 minutes, then sprinkled the thighs with bread crumb, turned up the heat to 450 for 15 minutes. Made the salad. Read the instructions on the mashed potato packet.
He had some questions like:
He: "How the hell do I know what 2 tablespoons of butter are?"
Me: "It says it on the butter wrapper"
He: "There isn't a wrapper!! Now what?"
Me: "About an inch and half of the stick" (He's very good with measurements)
"Where is the sauce pan?"
"Under the left side of the stove on the lower shelf"
"There are three!! Which one do I use."
"Hold them up so I can see>--->> that one....Oh and be sure to use the lid."
"Grumble grumble"
"Where did you hide the bread crumbs?"
"On the lazy suzan in the lower cabinet next to the right side of the stove. Its in a blue kind of can."
"Where?"
It was actually kind of funny. All strange territory for him, trying to find things. Just about as lost as I feel in his workshop if I have to find a tool.
When dinner came out....it was GREAT. He said. "Wow. This isn't hard. Its a snap." Very proud of himself. Rightly.
Now I'm exposed. The secret is out. Cooking really isn't that hard.
However, his next statement was.
"Hurry and get well, I'm tired of being the woman in the house."
Sort of the opposite problem here. I'm off work for two months. I see this free time as an opportunity to be the mad scientist in the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteBack in the 80s, while I was figuring out how to deal with a new and unexpected divorce, a friend suggested that I take cooking classes, first to improve my diet, and second to rid my self of frustrations by the merciless chopping of vegetables. It was a good idea on both measures. I've continued to work on my chef chops ever since.
The problem now is cuisine fatigue. Yesterday, for example, I thought I'd mess around with Indian cuisine (my favorite) for dinner. So I whipped up tandoori chicken, fresh naan, vegetable korma, saffron rice and mango ice cream for dinner. It was very good!
But what do I hear? "Wow. This is incredible. Better than we've eaten in a few restaurants. But can't we just have a grilled cheese sandwich and bowl of tomato soup for dinner once in a while?" I get no respect.
Anyhow, I've got to cut this comment short. There's a side of beef in the cooler that needs to be reduced to two cups of demi- glace sauce before dinner tonight. You know, to dip the grilled cheese sandwiches into.
LOL. Cuisine Fatigue. I'll have to remember that.
ReplyDeleteI love to cook so being unable to for a week was a deprivation since we also both love to eat.
My love of cooking comes from my Father who really liked the gourmet cooking, while my mother it was just a chore to accomplish. She was a good cook too, but really didn't enjoy it.