i know what good food TASTES like. i do. at times i like to think i have one of those “refined palates” they talk about. then i watch Hell’s Kitchen and see the blind food test and think otherwise. i feel as if a dinner party is in order to test out this blind tasting theory.
however, do i know HOW to cook food so that it tastes good?
Josh and many others have said a resounding – yes!
i’d say i’m decent, but could use more practice. there’s many things i’ve never attempted before out of fear of failure.
one thing that i’m learning to work on is confidence in myself. Josh and many others have also reminded me of this on many occasion.
– SO –
let’s start to change that shall we?
(yes, i’m forcing all of you to come along this cooking journey with me)
i grilled my FIRST STEAK EVER on the barbeque… or barbecue. do people really have a preferred spelling?
so why, at the age of 25, is this the first time i’m grilling a steak? well – meat in the past has… scared me. growing up we ate chicken. lots and lots of chicken. as many ways as you can think of. i remember having a roast turkey or chicken at grandparents houses, but always arriving after it had been cooked. i was rarely around any preparation, unless it was baking. i guess i was trusted more around measuring cups of flour that could be easily swept up than hot stoves and pans of grease. regardless, i steered clear unless it was already cooked. through the years my mind then forged some crazy thought that the touch, look and/or feel of raw anything was/is gross and nasty. further pushing me away from uncooked anything.
silly me. i know.
partly because i started writing a lot more and am enjoying it, and partly because with the move to a new apartment came a dishwasher (sing-any-song-really-loud-in-enjoyment-at-the-thought-of-dishwasher…because i am) i have this new-found energy to want to cook and bake everything. which then unfortunately comes with catching myself engrossed in a cookbook for 2 hours on the couch or – on the couch, surfing the internet watching food how-to videos. not spending one single minute in the kitchen. THE SHAME!
– SO –
i got off my bum, and put one of those how-to watching videos into practice. i figured a good place to start was the barbeque. something i always dreamt of being a master at, but never really having the resources ever to try.
Josh’s mom always had a fine cooking magazine lying around the cottage when we’d go and visit. (yes, i flip through a lot of magazines and love every minute of it, an obsession i blame on my mother) this is how i stumbled upon the informative how-to videos and why i ultimately went and grilled my first steak!
specifically watching “great steaks on the grill” under the “grilling how-to videos” section on the right of the fine cooking site once you click on the link. there are so many other videos to watch and if you know squat about barbecuing – i highly suggest watching them.
i let my steak sit out on the counter – i can’t remember how long, but long enough for it not to be fridge-cold still.
i patted my steak down with paper towel on both sides.
i peppered one side of my steak.
i salted one side of my steak.
flip and repeat.
i grabbed my trusty tongs, 2 plates (raw+once cooked), a dish towel (i always have one close by), and a container containing slices of zucchini (a favourite and not my first time cooking on a grill) which also provided me with a bit of oil for the grill. all set. i purposely did not bring down any utensils. this was going to be a one shot deal. no slicing until back in the comfort of my apartment.
i was awfully nervous setting the steak down on the grill for the first time. hearing that slight sizzle noise, following the videos advice on the placement – i mean really, who doesn’t want cute criss crosses on their steaks?! even better – calling them diamonds. i closed the lid as quickly as i could and vowed not to open it again until 3 or 4 minutes had passed. listening to the how-to video in my head, up on the roof top.
there was success all around. even cooked to my exact liking – medium well. between mohawk and myself, it was devoured ever so quickly even though he prefers a rare steak.
so how come when i invite two friends over, and cook for all four of us, i get 2 out of 4 steaks correct. grr…
practice practice practice.
don’t stop on me now good weather! i need another steak win!
© Becky Siddall and littlesiddallstudios 2012.
