Take that Rachel Ray!! - 21 days to 35 - Cooking a brand new meal from a cookbook

I come from a long line of cooking women. Women who put Rachel Ray's perky ass to shame. My mother and grandmother taught me to cook. And our type of cooking doesn’t really have recipes and measurements. I pretty much just know the ingredient list then I have at it. This is the reason that every batch of homemade chili that I make tastes different. I once made a huge batch that was so hot I had to throw it out because everyone was sweating while eating it (guess I overdid it on one cayenne pepper). So when creating my list, I thought it would be pretty cool to actually get a cookbook and follow a real recipe. Even better, I wanted to cook something totally new. Something I had never cooked before. Which is how I found myself standing in front of my husband's bookshelf browsing cookbooks (yeah, I know, something so wrong with him having more cookbooks than I have). Ironically, as much as I don’t like her overly happy ass, I settled on a Rachel Ray cookbook (it was the best one he had!!). Leafing through "Cooking 'Round the Clock" I found a variety of meals that looked appealing. I settled on Barbeque Saucy Salmon on Romaine Salad with Orange Vinaigrette. One, I LOVE seafood, I figured I wouldn’t screw up salmon too badly. Two, reading through the recipe I realize that I would have to make a glaze for the salmon as well as salad dressing. There is something pretty damn cool about making your own salad dressing. If I actually pulled this off I would feel like a real chef.

So I load up the baby and the husband and we head to the grocery store. Before we left I went through the recipe and my pantry, looking to see what I would need. The list was long. Really long. I hadn’t anticipated this. So later, browsing the aisles and doing some mental calculations, I started to come to the conclusion that this "30 minute meal" was about to be a sixty dollar meal. Hell, we should have just gone to Red Lobster.

Forty five minutes later, I am home, ingredients are spread out on the counter, and the hubby and baby have left me in the kitchen. I look skeptically from the counter full of ingredients to the recipe. This could be bad. I suddenly get nervous. It is a bug part of my self-identity that I tend to be good at things. And cooking has pretty much been a no brainer for me. I started frying French fries when I was in the fourth grade. Seriously! And I have never understood these people who say they can’t cook. But at this moment, in the face of making my own salmon glaze with such unknowns as curry powder and Worchester sauce, I am really nervous. What if it's bad? What if I have to sit through a dinner with Darin smiling politely while trying to choke down a disgusting disaster of a dinner? Well, we are never gonna know 'til I do it so I strap on an apron (I figured if I am gonna be a chef I might as well go all out!) and get to it.

I start making the glaze (who knew maple syrup, curry powder and liquid smoke could make such yumminess?), and realize that I am going to have to be a serious multitasker. I need to start grilling the salmon while stirring the glaze. I contemplate asking Darin for help, but then I realize that defeats the whole purpose of this. This is supposed to be MY meal. OK, I can do these....Ten minutes later and things are starting to smell really good, salmon is grilling and glazed and I am whisking my own salad dressing. (There was a small hiccup when I had to figure out exactly what "orange zest" was, but I bounced back nicely.) I break out the plates and get ready to serve it up. Unlike when I normally cook, I resisted the urge to taste along the way. I have NO IDEA what any of this tastes like. It smells great but I have been fooled by that before. (I once had dinner at this supposedly awesome steakhouse and they brought me a plate of some seafood concoction that smelled awesome and tasted like something the cat threw up!) One thing was sure of, presentation is everything! Even if it tastes like shit, at least I can make it look pretty.

Barbeque Saucy Salmon on Romaine Salad with Orange Vinagrette

So I serve it up, pour the wine and set the plates on the table. I watch Darin nervously. Because I haven’t tasted anything I really have no idea what kind of reaction to expect. He spears the forkful of the romaine lettuce then starts to chew. "It's good!" he says, smiling. I want to believe him but I am not too sure. "Try the salmon." I want to dig in too, but honestly, if it’s bad I want someone else to eat it first. He tries the fish and smiles. YES!! He didn’t keel over and he actually looked genuine when he says "Wow! It’s REALLY good!" Finally, I take a forkful myself. And he's right, it IS good!! See, even within the confines of a recipe I can still work it!! DAMN, I'm GOOD!!