Wednesday, January 20, 2010

What's for Dinner?

With a little time on my hands and restaurants being bloody expensive in Geneva, I have been exploring the art of cooking as of late. Until now, I have always been a very basic cook....pasta and premade sauce, grilled ham and cheese, etc. Since my newly ordered Cooking Light magazine arrived in the mail a few weeks ago, I have discovered a new hobby. Now, don't go crazy and think that I am creating masterpieces. I still have not braised anything and I certaintly have not attempted to caramlize anything. My pantry, however, is slowly starting to fill with ingredients (white wine vinegar, fresh chives, fennel seeds, etc) that would have been non-exsistent in the past. Did you know that a shallot is a small member of the onion family mild in taste and used in sauces and salads where the strong onion might overpower the dish? Cooking Light's "40 minute or less" dishes have been my best friends so far as I am not quite ready to brave Mahimahi with Pineapple Chutney. I did make one mean Dijon Croque Monsieur with Haricots Verts Salad (including a homemade vinaigrette dressing) the other day! My Roast Chicken with Balsalmic Bell Peppers and Mascarpone Masted Potatoes (pictured above) wasn't too bad either. Well, at least neither Jignesh nor I got sick from it and I managed not to set the place on fire! I am even starting to create my own gucamole recipes. Of course, this new hobby is even more interesting cosidering I am working with a kitchen the size of a broom closet and I have to find all these strange ingredients in a grocery store with labels in French. I am not sure I will ever become the next Gordon Ramsey but I at least I am filling our bellies with some homedmade, flavorful, and healthy meals. Don't worry, if you come and visit, I always keep a frozen pizza tucked away just in case...

Au Revoir.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes, my Kat is becoming quite the cook! I guess now that the founder of Taco Bell has passed on (moment of silence, please), I should finally eat like an adult anyway.

Jignesh

Lynne said...
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Lynne said...

Looks delicious, Kat! You are definitely off to a good start with cooking from scratch...it's really not so hard...just a little time-consuming for some things. As to finding items and reading labels in French...good luck with that one! (I am sure the French lessons are paying off :)

Anonymous said...

nice work sis! I read in a magazine the other day there are these cooking clubs where you cook a meal in your home for strangers, and they give you a bit of money for the food...

you should try to find something like that. would be fun.. you could learn lots about cooking and meet people.

黃色 said...
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peter said...

Is that a real picture of what you made? Wow, looks professional.