I'd like to think I've come a long way since then. I still find working alongside my wife in the kitchen to be intimidating but I'm not put off by the work itself. Even so, I was amused to see that the package of shrimp my wife got for me was already deveined, though she admitted that was all they had at the store. Even funnier is the fact that in his recipe for shrimp scampi in How to Cook Everything: The Basics, Mark Bittman admits that he doesn't even bother with deveining. I guess he doesn't enjoy that job any more than I did 19 years ago.
Cooking shrimp, once peeled, is frightfully simple. Daughter loves shrimp so she was an easy sell. The pan sauce was tasty, too.
nom nom nom, love Shrimp Scampi.
ReplyDeleteMark Bittman is always fun to watch on cooking shows.
cheers, parsnip
Gotta say, it was tasty. I'd probably get a little more adventurous with the flavoring next time.
DeleteI never de-vein.
ReplyDeleteI'd say you shouldn't be intimidated in the kitchen but, then, I do almost all of the cooking in our house.
My wife started cooking for her family when she was 14 and basically never stopped. So much of her cooking is reflex at this point. She gets impatient with me. I take it more personally than I should. And so it goes.
DeleteShe does encourage me to try and I enjoy my minor adventures. I have to admit, though, that I am less self-conscious about it when she's not around.
TAS: Ah, well, it never helps when someone is impatient with you. Maybe you need to develop some of your own cooking projects? Surprise her with something unexpected.
DeleteHave you ever heard of 'The Food Lab'?
Part of my reason for choosing this particular Bittman book is fulfilling my own need to get a better grasp of the fundamentals. It looks like the Food Lab takes a similar approach.
DeleteI don't mean to make her out to be an ogre. The issues are really more mine than hers. Recently, I've tried to take advantage of nights when she's not home to hone my skills rather than wimping out with take out, eating out, frozen pizza, etc. I get a night next week. In time, I'll get there.
Oh, I didn't take her to be an ogre. But I also know what you're talking about. That thing parents frequently do to their kids.
DeleteWe got the Food Lab book for Christmas, and I immediately learned some stuff about eggs that I had had no idea about, and I already made great eggs. But I also discovered my wife loves them the way Kenji does, so I make those, now, on mornings when I have more time.
Sounds like fun. We were devotees of Alton Brown's old show, Good Eats. I love learning about stuff like that.
DeleteOh this looks good! I used to not like cooking at all- but I am enjoying it more all the time. :)
ReplyDelete~Jess
I enjoy the Bittman book for the fact that the whole operation becomes more accessible and, therefore, more enjoyable.
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