Thursday, October 19, 2017

What I Learned From TV


During the month of October, I will be participating in the Write 31 Days hosted by Crystal Stine. My category is Food, Health & Wellness and my theme is "Into The Kitchen". 



Image Source: Wikipedia
We all had to learn to cook somewhere, from our mothers, grandmothers or on our own. While I didn't spend a lot of time trying to learn from my mom (I think my words were "I'll learn to cook when I need to") I picked up a lot more than I realized. Kids are sponges you know, they soak up a lot of stuff.

So fast forward to being married and needing to put meals on the table. Yes, I did, and no, we didn't starve or die from them. Were they good? Yeah, I thought so, but was I really cooking? Eh... If you call boxed mac & cheese, sausages and the occasional vegetable cooking, then yes. I put hot food on the table. Now don't think this was all bad, hubby loved the mac & cheese!

Then everything changed. I discovered the Food Network (the way it was back then, not now), back in the day of Emeril Lagasse (Bam!), Alton Brown (Good Eats), Jamie Oliver (The Naked Chef) and Rachel Ray (30 Minute Meals). I really learned something from these people. I learned about sauces and seasoning, and the reasons behind what works and what doesn't. I learned how to chop, slice and dice, how to hold a knife, about yeast and EVOO. I learned you can put good food on the table fast, without picking up fast food.

I don't watch the Food Network much anymore, as it seemed to change from educating to entertaining. While it was entertaining back then, too, it was way more instructional and informative. 

Mac & Cheese
My take-away from this is that now I can make a cheese sauce for my homemade mac & cheese that doesn't break, I can create my own recipes, and of course, make my own pizza.

Who are, or were, your favorite TV chefs?









If you enjoyed this post, please leave a comment. I would love to hear your thoughts.

3 comments:

  1. Hi Linda.

    I don't remember learning to cook when I was a kid. It was obviously a gradual thing as I watched and helped my mom. I love recipe books and always liked to follow the recipe. Cooking shows never held my attention for very long because I would rather be doing the cooking than watching, lol. Although, I have often fantasized about marrying a chef...but would help him in the kitchen...not sit there and wait for him to do all the cooking. I really loved to plan meals too. My favourite cookbook is Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking. I haven't used it for a while, but it's satisfying to make an Indian meal from scratch...even right down to roasting and grinding your own spices.

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    1. Davina, thanks for visiting. I did learn a lot from watching...repetition. I also have her book, and like you, haven't made anything for a while.

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  2. Reading this blog post of yours was a fun experience,Although,i am a foodie,i also don't know how to cook but i am slowly learning it from my mom.My mom also learned cooking from watching cooking shows.Thanks for sharing this with us,Keep up the good work!

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Hi, thanks for visiting my humble abode. All comments are read and appreciated.