My mother, although multi-talented, had an aversion to the kitchen and has often said that I learned to cook at an early age “out of self-defense.” When she made chicken à l'orange by smearing a chicken with powdered Tang, I quickly developed a necessary passion for creating tasty things to eat. Somewhere in the family photograph album is a picture of me at the stove, age ten, happily stirring marinara sauce.

I developed a lifelong fascination with food; good food. There was even a foray of working as a chef’s assistant at a French restaurant during my mid twenties, just for fun. I had always loved watching Julia Child and knew that Mastering the Art of French Cooking was to be revered. It wasn’t until I read her biography (long before the Julie & Julia movie) that I really became fascinated with her work. From that book, I decided to prepare her recipe for mayonnaise.

Upon tasting it, I wept. . . .

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Saturday, May 22, 2010

Kitchen Improvements

Now that I'm fully immersed into cooking, I finally broke down and bought something I've wanted for over twenty-five years.

A KitchenAid Mixer. Ta-daahhh!
Isn't it beautiful? There's nothing really quite like having the right equipment on hand to make your cooking that much more enjoyable.

I didn't want one of those fancy ones in designer colors -- (Yuppie porn) -- just the "classic" one that will do the job and do it well.

Yes, it looks all gleaming, new and white right now. That's all well and good but I look forward to the day when this puppy will look like my grandmother's old Mix-Master. You could tell it had been used and had faithfully produced lots of tasty things to eat over the years.

Yes, the KitchenAid is an investment. This thing is something that will last a lifetime -- nay, several lifetimes. This is the type of equipment you leave behind to a loved one and on to their offspring and so forth.

It feels good having it. Even better, I was just able to whip out Julia's Bavarois aux Praline (Bavarian Cream with Almond Praline and Custard Sauce) for my friends to enjoy tonight.

It's on its way to looking like my grandmother's . . .
Posted by Jonathan
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