The Recipe Book

                The problem with recipes is they do not really instruct you how to “make” them. Sure, there maybe be some simple directions or an order to put things in a bowl and mix but in reality, they ASSUME you know what the hell you’re doing. This however is not always the case. Unless for example Gram’s has shown you how to make her super-secret Sunday sauce and pasta her recipe might be useless. Even after she hands it to you, telling you in her 1950’s style avocado green kitchen not to reveal her secret ingredient. Her hand written note with its beautifully written ingredient list in that swirly and flurishly handwriting only Grandmother’s can write in. Unless she shows you how to make it, it’s just not enough to reproduce the same tasty sauce you grew up loving.  So since then you framed her beautiful written recipe with a piece of masking tape over the secret ingredient and it is framed and hung up in your kitchen for all to admire. You swear that one day you will get that recipe made right.

                The first step is not only learning how to cook but why you are doing what you’re doing. There is always a reason why your adding butter off heat to a sauce or why you have to cook the piece of cheap chuck steak on low for six hour to get it tender enough to melt in your mouth.  Even why EVERY TIME you make a hardboiled egg the friggen’ thing sticks to the shell and it’s impossible to peel!

                Leaning to cook is not impossible. Like any skill, it takes time and practice. How much you put into it will determine how fast you learn and how much. Learning to cook from a book without the help of a live person or at least a video might be near impossible but I am willing to try to help. Heck, I am even willing to make a video or two or three if I can find someone who is willing to recorded/edit it and post it on YouTube but let’s will see how far this recipe book project gets first.

                I wrote earlier that I will post the recipes here but if you need lessons on how to make them, I will be writing posts on this site from my NEW cookbook too. I am currently writing this book during this whole project called “How to cook: American Style.” Let us see if I can write a cookbook in a year. You get to test it out as we go. Then let me know how just how bad or good it is, am sure you will all post comments I hope.

                Most of all may you be happy, love what you do, and enjoy life! Until next time hoping all your drinks and meals are good ones!

Be Happy! Be Healthy! and may all your meals be good ones!

The Drunken Chef (Russ)