My stress in cooking comes when I am hosting a dinner party and there are so many diet restrictions to satisfy that I worry everyone will have enough to eat and thoroughly enjoy their meal. Among the guests at my last dinner gathering were a vegetarian, a pescatarian, gluten-free, vegan, and a carnivore..... and me, who's allergic to seafood. I ended up making a variety of food and because I believe no one should leave my table hungry. (thank you grandma Ida) ...and a lot of it!! Total exhaustion but happy to say my stress level went down after a couple glasses of wine and the meal was over and everyone was happy, giddy and full. xo
To echo the friend who actually stayed in law school the entire three years, I love this one, too! I have the normal stresses, primarily related to cooking for company. Will everything come out at roughly the same time, will the main course accidentally poison everyone, will my wife get upset because I left her to do all the socializing while I obsessed over the grill, will my wife get upset because I spent too much time socializing and burnt the hell out of whatever I was supposed to be in charge of? But when it comes out good enough for people to enjoy, it's wonderful to sit around the table, especially on summer nights like this one, eating, drinking and laughing.
I loved this! Is grilling not a solution??? Proud of you for persisting! I admit I am one for those who really could eat the same thing everyday and not care of perhaps even be aware. At least you have the determination, commitment (perhaps even obsession) to hang in and not let the existential pressures of what you describe overwhelm you! Always be on attack! Standards! Huh, there are your folks again!
omg will. you have your finger on the pulse. getting the chicken package out of the grocery bag -- danger, blood, germs. pulling it out of the fridge -- danger, blood, GERMS. open the package -- did i touch it? did the knife touch it? putting the chicken package esp the disgusting pad in the bottom of the package -- did it touch the trash can lid?
that's the trauma i have before i even get it into the oven. then i have to make sure that everything is safely into the dishwasher so no one else accidentally uses a danger, blood, germs item unwittingly.
I find cooking meats to be like a whodunit. You go through this elaborate set up and then there's this moment of truth. When the climax of the doneness reveal happens, you know if you guessed right. If you did guess right, consuming the meal is an ultimately satisfying conclusion.
One of your best! Absolutely hit home. I’m not much of a cook but the few times a year I wrestle with the chicken prep it confirms my choice to throw money at take out. The grossest part for me is removal of those disgusting little bloody delights that we have to pick out of the crevices...
My stress in cooking comes when I am hosting a dinner party and there are so many diet restrictions to satisfy that I worry everyone will have enough to eat and thoroughly enjoy their meal. Among the guests at my last dinner gathering were a vegetarian, a pescatarian, gluten-free, vegan, and a carnivore..... and me, who's allergic to seafood. I ended up making a variety of food and because I believe no one should leave my table hungry. (thank you grandma Ida) ...and a lot of it!! Total exhaustion but happy to say my stress level went down after a couple glasses of wine and the meal was over and everyone was happy, giddy and full. xo
To echo the friend who actually stayed in law school the entire three years, I love this one, too! I have the normal stresses, primarily related to cooking for company. Will everything come out at roughly the same time, will the main course accidentally poison everyone, will my wife get upset because I left her to do all the socializing while I obsessed over the grill, will my wife get upset because I spent too much time socializing and burnt the hell out of whatever I was supposed to be in charge of? But when it comes out good enough for people to enjoy, it's wonderful to sit around the table, especially on summer nights like this one, eating, drinking and laughing.
I loved this! Is grilling not a solution??? Proud of you for persisting! I admit I am one for those who really could eat the same thing everyday and not care of perhaps even be aware. At least you have the determination, commitment (perhaps even obsession) to hang in and not let the existential pressures of what you describe overwhelm you! Always be on attack! Standards! Huh, there are your folks again!
omg will. you have your finger on the pulse. getting the chicken package out of the grocery bag -- danger, blood, germs. pulling it out of the fridge -- danger, blood, GERMS. open the package -- did i touch it? did the knife touch it? putting the chicken package esp the disgusting pad in the bottom of the package -- did it touch the trash can lid?
that's the trauma i have before i even get it into the oven. then i have to make sure that everything is safely into the dishwasher so no one else accidentally uses a danger, blood, germs item unwittingly.
and chicken is my favorite food.
I find cooking meats to be like a whodunit. You go through this elaborate set up and then there's this moment of truth. When the climax of the doneness reveal happens, you know if you guessed right. If you did guess right, consuming the meal is an ultimately satisfying conclusion.
https://www.goodnes.com/sweet-earth/products/mindful-chikn/
Will I'm glad I stumbled into your Substack and this resonates with me much too hard
One of your best! Absolutely hit home. I’m not much of a cook but the few times a year I wrestle with the chicken prep it confirms my choice to throw money at take out. The grossest part for me is removal of those disgusting little bloody delights that we have to pick out of the crevices...