Learning to Cook

The picture above isn't visually appealing but judging by the response I got from Serge, Morgan, Eileen, and Dan, my first time cooking for more than one other person was a success.

A few weeks ago, Serge cooked dinner for Morgan and Eileen at our apartment. They had begun cooking dinner for each other each Sunday. I was home and was invited to join the feast. Inside I was thinking I might have landed a pretty good gig. Dinners made by others every Sunday sounded pretty sweet. However, these thoughts were quickly dashed when I was informed that to continue being a free loader I would have to cook dinner at some point. I have some experience cooking but usually pretty basic things. Your typical Hamburger Helper, Chicken Helper, Tuna Helper, you get the idea. So it was pretty nerve-wracking thinking about having to cook for Serge, Morgan, Eileen, and now Dan.

I scoured the Internet looking for easy recipes, but didn't have much luck. It seemed like every recipe had something I had never heard of. I talked to my co-worker Stu, and he pointed me to a Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta recipe, with a side of green beans and orzo on pbs.org. I looked it over and it seemed like something I was capable of. However, two of the ingredients were things I had never heard of. At first, I thought a scallion was a fish. I had no clue what the hell orzo was. But the rest of the recipe was just shrimp, feta, tomatoes, oregano, mint, and olive oil.

Honestly, because of my uncertainty about some of the ingredients, the trip to the grocery store was more intimidating than the actual thought of cooking. Fittingly, scallions and orzo ended up being the hardest things for me to find. I had forgot to look up an image of a scallion and had no idea what it was. I asked a Giant guy and he gave me some convoluted directions that I forgot in a second. Fortunately, a woman was also looking for scallions and said this out loud to her son. So I basically followed her and found my scallions. I had figured out that orzo was a pasta but it seemed Giant had none. I called Stu asking him for some help but he couldn't offer much assistance not being there. A fourth look in the pasta aisle revealed what seemed to be the last box of orzo they had!

I had decided to keep the menu a secret, mainly because I thought I might change my mind at the last minute and make the familiar chicken cutlets. This ended up backfiring as I later learned that Morgan is allergic to shrimp. Sorry Morgan! Probably my biggest challenge in cooking was making sure I had the right amount of portions. I am used to cooking for myself or one other person. I ended up with enough but there was barely any leftovers and that is something I will have to improve on for next time. I never was overwhelmed while cooking, as the timing of both the dinner and side, allowed me to fully focus on one or the other. I did end up burning my mouth pretty badly from taste tasting and making sure it was ready. Overall, I thought it came out quite well. The feta was excellent, and the tomato juice combined with the shrimp was delicious. The orzo and green beans were pretty good, but could have been better. Everyone said they enjoyed the food, and they ate it all, so it seems like it was a success.

I am not sure what I will cook next time but learning to cook is something I am really excited to do. Women love a man who can cook, right?