Mastering Ones Own Cooking Challenges

What was it I said? I have enough cookbooks.  Well golly gee, to my wonderful suprise as I arrived home from work Saturday evening I found sitting on the couch hap hazzardly placed where my darling husband tossed the brown cardboard box.  But yet another cookbook that I had ordered.  This one I so anticipated it's arrival.  Mastering  the Art of French Cooking.  

As I opened the box it felt like Christmas.  Here it was a brand new copy of Julia Childs masterpiece.  For many years I never realized how much she had truly changed how the world viewed chooking and cooking shows.  She truly was a pioneer.  I look forward to the adventure that awaits me between this lovely hardcovered book.   Who wouldn't, were talking Julia the queen of the kitchen.  As I flip through the pages I realize I can take myself to France.  I may night be able to truly travel there but close enough.  If I can recreate the experince I sure will do so to the best of my ability.  So off I go to flip the pages and find my newest cooking adventure journey to travel.

For the Love of Food

I tell myself over and over again, No More Cookbooks! But it never fails I find one that I just have got to have in my possession.  These days I'm well over 100 cookbooks but each one is special and when it comes to relaxation there are days instead of grabbing a novel to curl up on the couch with.  I grab a cookbook and a glass of wine and escape inside the world of food.  I'm not one of those people who need a cookbook that must have pictures.  I love reading a recipe and invisioning what the results will be.  If there is a picture then that is a treat but not a necessity.

Yesterday as I was out shopping for a dutch oven to make Julia Childs Beouf Bourguignon.  Which by the way turned out fabulous.  Near the various supplies of pots and pans there was the Whirly Bird popcorn maker pot and some other popcorn supplies.  Nearby was a cookbook of all things titled Popcorn by Patrick Evans-Hylton.  In our household Popcorn and Pretzels are the big snack of choice.  But buttered and carmel popcorn can only go so far.

So I was drawn to this Popcorn book.  Yes there is more to the life of popcorn other than just butter.  I skimmed the pages of the book, put it back on the shelf, picked it up again, put it back and then finally picked it back up and put it into my shopping cart.  The two recipes that truly caught my eye were the Parm and Pepper Corn & the Spicy Buffalo Popcorn.  If someone has discoverd a way to make the flavors of chicken wings on popcorn..... I'm in.  So an adventure is soon brewing on the adventures of popcorn. 

Today I enjoyed my day off with some new recipes for dinner.  My husband and I are huge fans of chicken salad.  We've been trying some various recipes and buying some.  But of course I have still been on the search for the perfect chicken salad recipe.  Over the past few months I have become addicted to Chic-Fil-A's chicken salad sandwiches.  So I did a lil' searching on the internet and found a recipe that was very similar to what they have to offer.  It was by far the best chicken salad I have ever made.  Chicken Salad with a hard boiled egg is something rather new to me but also extremely tasty.  

I guess as I sit here and write I realize how important food is to me.  I'm not a rich person who can travel the world to places I dream of everyday.  But food can take me on adventures to those faraway places and bring them into my reaches.  

So for those of you who walk past a cookbook section and wonder should I really pick up that book.  Honestly I would go for the adventure of what lies between those two covers.  And always remember cooking is like a science project.  A little of this and a little of that.   With the mystery of that end result such an exciting moment to embrace.  

Bon Appetite

Jackie