Thursday, September 20, 2012 Do you remember the first time you
had to cook an entire meal? Following recipes, getting timing
right for each part to be ready at the same time, and trying to
present it in an appetizing way? I know from experience that
doing this, even now, especially for a large holiday meal, has
my kitchen ending up somewhat of a disaster zone. Like my mother
(who is an amazing cook) I have every cabinet open and am
probably covered in flour or splatter from the stove. With
experience, of course, this has become much easier and I am much
better at cleaning up as I go. Now imagine cooking that big meal
for the first time and being told not to make a mess and to not
get dirty. How would that feel? Can you imagine the added
pressure of trying something new and learning to explore the
nuisances of a recipe without spilling a little flour or having
a cracked egg drip on the counter? I know I would feel a lot of
pressure and would not enjoy myself very much. To me a big part
of cooking is tasting a