Recipe Attempt two: Are you sensing a theme?

I have now made the "Best Scrambled Eggs" recipe from HTCE several times. The basic theory is...cook at a low temperature, break up into small curds, be patient! The first time I made them Joel was a bit skeptical. The quote: "When I saw them on the plate I thought they were underdone, and I thought I usually liked them in bigger pieces, but I would eat this everyday if you made it for me." Much more positive feedback then with the Quiche, so thumbs up to this one. Here are some pics from our Sunny, Sunday Scramble. I've included the recipe at the bottom.


2 to 4 TBLSPNS butter
5 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tspn fresh tarragon (I used dill because that's what I had in the garden)
2 TBLSPNS cream

Place medium skillet over high heat for a minute. Add the butter and swirl it around in the pan. After the butter melts, but before it foams turn the heat to low.
Beat the eggs with the remaining ingredients and pour into the skillet. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. At first nothing will happen; after 10 minutes or so the eggs will begin to form curds. Do not lose patience: Keep stirring, breaking up the curds as they form, until the mixture is a mass of soft curds. This will take 30 minutes or more.

Recipe Attempt 1: Basic Quiche

When we were little my mom used to make Quiche Lorraine a lot. I was a very picky eater, but this was one of my faves. My mom used to work for Magic Chef in the early 80's so we had a microwave pretty early on. Her job involved creating microwave recipes and demonstrating them for people at department stores. I think we were guinea pigs, but I liked this particular Magic Chef recipe so no complaints here. (Though I am still skeptical of her claims of doing a whole Thanksgiving dinner in the microwave. C'mon mom, that's just disrespectful to the pilgrims.)

OK in How to Cook Everything (HTCE) Mark Bittman suggests you make a Quiche pie crust from scratch. That would probably taste better, but I am dipping my toes in right now, so I bought a Marie Callender ready made pie crust. I did follow MB's directions to poke several holes in it with a fork, cover it with tin foil and put some beans on the tin foil to weight it down. I followed his advice to use Gruyere, 2 cups cream, and 6 eggs, but then I added bacon because who doesn't luurrrve bacon? (Jen, but I think everyone else does). I also added some chives from my garden. So following the recipe in spirit anyway.

Final results? I liked it a lot. I made two and gave one to the neighbors who have a new baby. They seemed to like it. Joel didn't have seconds, which doesn't bode well for his enjoyment, but for a nice, easy, but not healthy recipe this one was pretty good. Plus it provided a trip down memory lane. I'll give it a B.

Start with two cups of ambition, mix with heaping tablespoons of self-deprication...

Lately I have begun to doubt my cooking ability. Here is the evidence piling up:
• When my in-laws come to visit, I always make Joel cook or we order carry out. I don’t trust myself to cook something disaster-free with an audience.
• Whenever I bring a dish to a party or a potluck, I always burn it or undercook it, or end up bringing fresh fruit. (This makes me look like healthy mom who wants healthy options, but really it is because I have a good set of knives and some access to good, fresh produce. Sneaky.)
• Mostly, we make a lot of EZ dinners. For example…frozen pastas with veggies from Trader Joe’s that you just throw in a skillet, turkey taco salad, hot dogs on the grill.

But I want to do better! I would like us to eat more healthfully, and I would like the satisfaction of feeding my family. (I don’t think I have fallen too victim to the “Cult of Domesticity,” but I think I will find this to be a rewarding quest.)

So here is the summer challenge I have given myself: I have had Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything sitting around my kitchen, barely cracked, for two years. I started reading and liked his opinions that the best foods are those that are fairly simple to make with close at hand, high-quality ingredients. Happily, Joel and I planted tomatoes and an herb garden this summer for the first time. This will give me easier access to those fresh ingredients.

I think I will have some challenges in my quest to be an average cook:
• Money is tighter than usual because of a very expensive car repair. I have to at least start with things I already have around the house.
• I think my oven cooks things unevenly. In my old apartment I used to make excellent chocolate chip cookies. I have not gotten a batch exactly right since we’ve lived here in this house. (Although the presence of a toddler might affect my patience and attention to detail as well.)
• I like to make excuses.

Finally, I don’t pretend this is a new idea. (Many blogs exist where an enterprising young writer tackles an entire cook book. I don’t plan to cook the entire cookbook, and I don’t have aspirations of a book deal or advertising revenue, I just want to learn to make a decent meal for my family when I try.) This is also not going to be a food blog because I am certainly not a foodie. I just aspire to be called a “decent cook” because right now I am more like an “excellent burner”. I am writing about it because, so far, I am having fun. It will be nice to read about the process later on. Please keep reading if you are so inclined, and let me know if you are brave enough to be a taster. I have two recipes to update you about coming soon. (They both involve eggs. Seemed like a good place to start.)

Once Upon A Dream

Dexter's been watching too much Sleeping Beauty lately.