Out of the frying pan....

As a relatively self aware person, I’ve always been aware of how lucky I am to have a mother who has a passion for cooking. Growing up we never had a Chicken Tuesday, or Meatloaf Fridays. Other than Sunday dinners, you could never predict what you would be eating the next night. Although you could assume that it was going to be unique, and delicious! Unfortunately, upon reaching university, and subsequently reaching my own tiny share of a kitchen, I discovered a horrible fact. I didn’t know how to cook ANYTHING.

It’s not that I didn’t know how the oven worked, or that I couldn’t read a recipe, but when you’re 18, and living on a student budget, you just don’t go out and spring for a spice rack. Not to mention finding recipes that deal in single servings was difficult. So for that time in my life I mostly lived off of pasta dishes and chicken grilled in my own little George Foreman Grill.

In recent months I’ve made more of an effort to pay attention to how some of these miraculous meals are prepared, but in the end my efforts ended in vain. “Make a cream sauce for your pasta?” my brother says, “Just mix some cheese, cream and a little bit of cornstarch in a sauce pan. No problem!” HA! All I got was a gooey cheesy mess. Apparently certain kinds of cheese must be used. I realized that if I am to successfully cook a meal, I should use a direct recipe with precise measurements and directions.

The next discovery in my cooking quest was made when I tried to find a day in which I could try making a meal for my family. I would soon find that my mother had dinner planned every night, sometimes a few days in advance, sometimes even for nights in which she was going out. Something was always half prepared, or there was chicken thawing in the sink. Trying to anticipate a respite in this schedule seemed impossible. Eventually I outright asked if I could try and cook dinners maybe once a week. On Wednesday or Thursday when everyone is at work? I imagined it would be nice for my mom to come home from work with dinner all ready to go.

First responses to my idea were unenthusiastic at best. “But you only like chicken!” my family said, which is a valid argument. Just because I won’t eat red meats doesn’t mean they shouldn’t. But I persisted in my arguments, and it was agreed that the next Thursday I would be responsible for dinner.

With a date set, and my mom looking forward to a day off, I must now find something to make! So, after perusing the internet, looking through my mothers small library of cookbooks and even enlisting the help of my culinary inclined younger brother, a menu was chosen.

First! An appetizer inspired from one of my favorites from Melanie Pringles, Broccoli and cheddar dip with nachos (or pita bread) served piping hot in the pan it was baked in.

For the main meal, Pork tenderloin (and a piece of chicken for me!) with a honey mustard and pistachio coat, steamed asparagus and mashed potato’s.

Dessert was easy, deciding to stick with the pistachio theme, I made a pistachio cake with some spare nuts sprinkled on top of neon green icing.

The dip turned out great, though there was too much for five people to eat. The rest of the meal was perfect and everyone enjoyed it (including me, my chicken was great!) and the cake was a nice light dessert. Pretty good for my first run!