I am not a good cook. I’m impatient, lazy and too easily throw in the towel when challenged. I could never be a professional chef; no fish nor bones would touch my plate.
If I attempt a recipe and it fails, it’s doubtful I will try again. When I watch my friends cook, they are quick. They chop vegetables, trim meat, measure ingredients and have dinner simmering in no time.
For me, chopping an onion or slicing tomatoes takes . However, I have found more than a few recipes through cooking shows that help me impress my friends. Chocolate roulade, Hungarian goulash, chuck roast with wine gravy, and braised red potatoes have all received rave reviews.
My self-basting Thanksgiving turkey one year earned praise and tears from my mother. The chocolate roulade with a chantilly cream filling was courtesy of “Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home,” with Julia Child and Jacques Pépin. The goulash came from watching Martha Stewart.
Bolstered by those successes, I got into watching . I watch all the episodes I can (even the ones featuring fish). The show’s equipment testing, gadget recommendations, taste tests and sessions on the science of cooking all fascinate me.
The fact that all ATK recipes are repeatedly tested gives me confidence, and I can watch how the chefs do it. I trust them as if they are old friends. I’ve spent many an hour with Julia Collin Davison and Bridget Lancaster, among others.
One day, years ago, while watching the Old-Fashioned Stuffed Turkey episode with .
