Hi, I'm Marni and I am going to try blogging to record thoughts and feelings, happenings whether good or bad, diets both good and bad, my attempts at art, piano, gardening and cooking. My life at home and traveling. It should be fun. I think it will be fun.
I was going to attempt to cook again today. Let me state here that I am not a cook. I can set a gorgeous table. I can pick a gorgeous wine. But I can't cook. I love cookbooks - to have them, not necessarily to read them. I have a wonderful shelf in my kitchen that holds cookbooks. I keep filling that shelf but it doesn't help the cooking. I never could cook. My mother always claimed to be a bad cook - although in comparison to me, she is a gourmet! She always said she was the youngest daughter of three and so while the other two helped their mother in the kitchen, she was always sent to set the table. See a trend here? Before I got married when I was young, my mother suggested I invite my fiance over once a week and fix him dinner. It lasted 2 weeks. Then as a young newlywed, when most women master the art of cooking - we ate out. His family loved to eat out. His mother could cook but she was an officer in a bank and didn't want to bother after work. So we ate out with them. They loved it. We loved it. But I never learned to cook.
When divorced, we were on our own. If 7/11 didn't have it, I didn't cook it. Easter dinner - Safeway chinese takeout.
My friends could cook. One friend came over to visit and decided to cook for us and teach me how. She opened my cabinets and commented, "Marni, I've seen garage sales with better pots and pans." I hadn't ever bothered to buy many. So I bought a set of Caphalon for when she came to visit. She got so excited she sent me a year's subscription to Gourmet magazine. I read every issue. I clipped some recipes. I never once tried any. My daughter loved this friend's visits. She would stand at her elbow and watch her. I swear she absorbed the friend's ability just by watching.
By the time my daughter, Kara, was a teenager - she could cook. She had to. She made her own spaghetti sauce. I never used any spaghetti sauce that didn't come out of a can or jar.
One time I started to grill a chicken. My daughter came running and said, "Wait Mom, Let me mix up a little sauce to marinade it in first." Marinade? Sauce? That you made yourself? Where did she learn to do this? I never made a sauce to marinade or grill with in my life. How did she learn this? Where did she come up with this stuff?
I married again and moved to California. I warned him up front. He still doesn't mind after 14 years. But if I took out a pot and put it on the stove, my daughter would run up. "What are you doing?" She then took over whatever cooking I had planned.
We went to San Diego a year or two ago and ate at Croce's. Wonderful place. Started by the late Jim Croce's wife. It's a wonderful restaurant. She has a couple cookbooks and our dinner companions bought one for me since it happened to be my birthday. The owner was there dining herself and signed the book for me. I have never opened it. Not once. I plan to. Someday.
We like to cruise and met and made some new friends, especially a great couple who live in Sacramento (Lincoln, to be exact). Diane sounds like she is a terrific cook. Makes wonderful sounding dishes. Just hearing her talk about cooking gets me enthused. She bought the Princess cookbook "Courses" I believe the name is. and said she has made many dishes out of it.
I bought one. Have never opened it.
She described a simple easy dish she does. Just broiling vegetables with olive oil and sea salt. "I can do that" I thought. And tried it. Oily mushy mess. "How much oil did you use?" she asked me. Not much. I drizzled. I love to watch Giada DeLaurenti and I pretended to be her and drizzled and sprinkled those vegies with sea salt. Had a glass of wine. I felt elegant. Until I tried to eat them. OILY, mushy mess. I tossed them out. I promised my friend, Diane, to try and cook something again next month.
So last night I bought some potatoes and some ribs to barbeque. I have my husband and my son living here so thought the men would like something on the grill. We have a huge lovely grill that costs over $1k. Hasn't been used yet this year and it is June 22nd. I have salad makings and potatoes and lovely ribs. My husband announced that HE will be doing the cooking.
So it is time for me to set the table. I'm good at that.
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