Cooking Class Is A Go!

It's official people! Yours truly finally got word that she's been registered for her adult cooking class! 

WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Imagine, in just two months I'll be a cooking whiz -- beating eggs with authority and making fresh pasta from scratch. I'm sure Julia Child is smiling right now.

Class starts Monday. Not sure what the class of 15 will be cooking. But I'm hoping the instructor shows us how to make lasagna. ...and chocolate ganache cupcakes. ...and penne alla vodka. ...and something with shrimp -- CAUSE I LOOOOOVE SHRIMP!!! =) 


(image courtesy of 5loaves-2fishes.blogspot.com)

Cook Your Own Damn Food...

I didn't always have an aversion to cooking. In fact, some of my fondest childhood memories are of my mother and I baking cheese straws and homemade bread in our cramped kitchen in Brooklyn. But as I got older, she and I stopped cooking and I spent most of my time with my head in a book, juggling junior high with all the homework I got from Prep. There hardly was time for cooking when I was 11 and 12, and eventually my interests turned to music, TV and thinking about boys when I entered high school.

By the time I got to college, cooking wasn't even on my radar. I wasn't about to whip out a pot or pan when I had McDonald's, Wendy's, Wes Wings, Cup-O'-Noodles, Niblets corn and Chef Boyardee at my disposal. The most "cooking" I ever did at Wesleyan entailed frying kielbasa in a pan. 

And the deeper entrenched in my 20s I became, the more often I would hear the same question: "How are you going to feed your husband?"

Excuse me?

"What are you going to do when you get married?"

My response: "Eat bologna sandwiches, I guess."

Turkey, Why Must You Look So Menacing?

Look at it. All pink and bumpy. Head decapitated and legs tied together like a common criminal.

Turkey, I'm sorry you were slaughtered because now I have to look at your naked form and -- let's be honest, it ain't pretty. But, alas, I'm visiting the "in laws" in Pennsylvania and I've vowed to get up-close and personal with this 16-pound bird.

Cooking Made Easy?

Many, many, MANY moons ago, my ex-boyfriend's mother bought me "The Beginner's Cookbook." As you can guess, I haven't looked at it much over the past seven or eight years. 

So I thought, "Kimberley, you suck at cooking. Maybe it's time to find that book and learn something." So I went to the bookshelf, found the 256-page cooking textbook -- and was instantly reminded why I chucked it to the side years ago.

Let's start with "Part 2: Before You Cook," shall we? (Brace yourself people.)

Fingers Crossed...

This week I was mailed my registration form for an upcoming cooking class at a local adult education center. The class is limited to 15 people so I’m really nervous that there won’t be enough room. 

What a travesty that would be. Of all the kitchen-challenged people in North Jersey, I -- above all others -- need this class! 

According to the course description, the instructor is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and after eight sessions “your family and friends will think you’re a culinary graduate!” Awesome!

I won’t know until next week if I’m been accepted, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed until then. Wish me luck!


(image courtesy of allposters.com)

Giada, You Complete Me...

I don't care that you're obsessed with mascarpone cheese. Nor do I care that you use words like "warm" and "earthy" to describe the flavor of certain spices (even though I have no idea what the hell "warm" and "earthy" taste like).

Half the time you cook meals that I would never try. But I don't care. Perhaps it's your enthusiasm for parmesan cheese and copious amounts of lemon zest that draws me to the TV. Or the way you get so excited over fennel bulbs and store-bought mayonnaise.

Every time I turn on "Giada at Home" or "Everyday Italian," I feel warm and fuzzy inside; like I'm sitting down and watching an old friend work her magic.

Your crab-salad Napoleans (consisting of a filling of crab salad, peas and chives) isn't my thing, but I watched the episode from start to finish anyway. 

Paula Deen and Rachael Ray are lovely. But Giada takes the cake. 

Here are some Giada recipes I plan to try (just as soon as I find the time):

1. Grilled Chicken with Spinach and Pine Nut Pesto

2. Italian Bakes Chicken and Pastina

3. Classic Italian Lasagna

4. Baked Penne with Roasted Vegetables

5. Penne with Vodka Sauce

6. Chicken or Steak with Balsamic BBQ Sauce

In case you've never seen Giada De Laurentiis in action, here's a video of her culinary journey (source: The Food Network)

                                 
(images courtesy of Starsbase.com (top left), Life-fashion.com (top right) and NBC)

Bensi Salad = Crack

Fine, I'll admit it. My culinary tastes leave much to be desired. I'm no "foodie" (or whatever the hell that means), I don't profess to know what marjoram is, nor do I shop at specialty stores that sell Herbes de Provence. 

I like what I like. And right now, I'm obsessed with the Bensi Salad. 

I had never even heard of the Italian restaurant chain until I moved to New Jersey a few years ago. And now, I'm in heaven. And it has nothing to do with their pasta or chicken marsala. Strangely enough, my love affair with this restaurant began over some lettuce and some vinegar and oil.

Ladies and gentleman, I present to you the perfect salad: The Bensi Salad, the perfect blend of iceberg and romaine lettuce, baby greens, tomatoes, cubes of mozzarella, roasted red peppers, green and black olives, and house dressing. (Note: the salad comes with sun-dried tomatoes and red onions, but I always skip those. I believe onions are the devil and sun-dried tomatoes and I no longer get along.)

I can't tell you how many times I've stopped at Bensi on my way home from work, or from the gym, JUST for the salad. I kid you not, I've purchased a to-go salad three times in one week -- but I switched up the locations (North Arlington, Clifton and Hasbrouck Heights) so the people behind the register wouldn't think I was crazy.

Now, some of you might be saying: "What's so damn special about this salad?" And to tell you the truth, I have no idea. It's wonderful because it is, OK?!

The first bite is ...absolutely exquisite! The dressing -- vinegary greatness mixed with oil and other yummy goodness -- is light and tasty, the perfect complement to the roasted red peppers and mozzarella.

Now you tell me, why should I even attempt to make salad at home when THIS exists???

Mangia!

I'm Petrified of My Food Processor...

This gadget was supposed to make everything OK.

Somehow, by the power invested in Giada De Laurentiis, this food processor was supposed to magically transform me from a kitchen-challenged oaf into the Italian beauty herself. I had visions of whipping up the perfect pesto, so good in fact that my boyfriend (a known cheese-hater, except for mozzarella) would marvel at the delicate texture of fresh basil, pine nuts and parmesan cheese.

I had such high hopes for me and my food processor. I thought we'd be the perfect team. But she and I have barely looked at each other.

Well aware of my kitchen diva aspirations, my boyfriend bought me a food processor for Christmas. I never opened it. It was nice. Manufactured by Black & Decker. But we live in a rather small apartment so I wasn't sure where to stash it once I opened the box. So I didn't.

Then a miracle happened.