Adventures in Cooking

it is a universal truth that just because one does something often, does not mean that one is doing something well.

i am getting much better acquainted with universal truths these days.

i had big plans for dinner. i was going to make crab cakes seasoned with onions and sherry. i was going to make a crispy and tasty cole slaw. and for dessert? light, refreshing fruit tarts. i even pre mixed alot of things so that at night i could just start cooking.

i mean, since i moved in with adam i have been cooking alot. at first i was happy to let him make dinner every night but even i can see that's not fair. so i started to cook. and i learned that i like to cook! to me it's kind of relaxing, and i like to try out different things. to use a queer eye term, i am kind of a foodie. i love to eat all different kinds of foods and it's actually fun (nerd!) to experiment with different meals. however, i tend to think it is as simple as following a recipe.

it is not this simple. there is a certain finesse.

chicken, i can handle. same with beef. these meats are forgiving. if you, say, don't know the difference between medium high heat and high heat, the meal will most likely still be edible and somewhat tasty. and i tend to make things that have a sauce. sauce tends to mask other, perhaps less pleasant tastes.

tastes like "burning".

this is a good thing.

crab meat, it turns out, is not as forgiving. i made two batches of two large crab meat "cakes" as called for in the recipe. let's just say that the first batch looked exactly like very well done hamburgers in color and consistency.

they are supposed to look like this:



the second batch fell apart in the cooking oil.

and let's just say that it does not bode well for your entree when the fire alarm in your apartment goes off so many times that your boyriend has to knock it off the ceiling and take the battery out.

the cole slaw, at least, came out okay. but let's be honest. it is essentially salad..and it's pretty difficult to ruin a salad.

the fruit tarts also came out great, but alot of cheating goes on in the recipe, which i am putting at the end of this entry.

so, essentially, for dinner we had cole slaw and fruit tarts.

i'm not giving up though. i will make perfect crab cakes! maybe not Joe's American Bar & Grille -crab cakes...but i would settle for not-setting-off-the-fire-alarm-even-once crab cakes.

My Simple, Impossible to Ruin Fruit Tart Recipe

Ingredients
(1) 6 pack of mini graham cracker pie crusts
(1) package of vanilla flavored instant pudding
1/2 package of strawberries (fresh)
2 or 3 kiwis
1 tbsp sugar (optional)
3 tbsp apricot jam (for glazing)

*arrange pie crusts on a tray.

*prepare the pudding as directed and before it sets pour it evenly into all the shells. you should have exactly enough. place the tray in the fridge to set...about 10 minutes.

* de-stem strawberries and cut into fourths . peel and slice the kiwis, then cut the slices in half. place all fruit in a bowl and sprinkle with a little water. for a sweeter tart, sprinke about a tablespoon of sugar throughtout the mixture and mix lightly.

*remove tray from fridge and arrange a mixture of the kiwis and strawberries on each tart.

* put the apricot jam in a microwave-save bowl and microwave on high for about 30 seconds, stirring once at the 15 second mark. using a pastry brush, paint the melted jam onto the fruit to give it a shiny, glazed appearence.

*refridgerate for half an hour before eating!