Table Talk » My day as an Iron Chef

Today I got a newfound respect for people who cook completely without recipes. My cook date was supposed to be straightforward: a four-meal service for a long-term client. They get nine servings of each meal. Two of the meals were one dish meals, the other two meals consisted of two recipes each. So a total of six recipes to make. Of the six recipes, three were recipes that I had made many times. One was a recipe I had made twice, and two I'd be making for the first time. Should have been simple. But, I left my precious clipboard case that holds my shopping list, recipes, invoice, and labels in the cart when I loaded my groceries into my car. I discovered this after I got to the client's home and had unloaded all of my gear plus the groceries. There was a little bit of chaos at my client's this morning because she forgot I was coming and she was madly cleaning the kitchen when I arrived. When we determined that I didn't have my recipes, my client offered to go to the store to get them as soon as she could because she needed to run some errands after getting her two kids fed and dressed. OK, that should work. I can get started on some stuff in the meantime.

I'm cooking five days this week and all the menus were jumbled in my head. The first thing I did was to look over the pile of groceries and review what I was making. The menu for the day was Cowboy Casserole, Black Bean Burgers and Spicy Barbecued Edamame (these are the two recipes that I've never made), Paella Valencia (I've made this one twice, but that was over a month ago), Balsamic Rosemary Pork and Mashed Potatoes with Spinach. The good news is that I have all of the ingredients in front of me so I can piece together what I need to do. I've never been one to follow recipes to a T, but when faced with no recipes in front of me and a lot of different ingredients, I realized how much I rely on my recipes to know which ingredients to use. If you're cooking one or two recipes, it's no big deal, but when you are cooking more than that, not knowing what is supposed to be used for each recipe makes it a challenge.

I started with the Cowboy Casserole. This is a ground beef casserole that has onions, green bell peppers, and baked beans. The ground beef mixture is cooked on the stovetop, then poured into casserole pans, topped with cornbread batter and baked. I knew that it has ketchup, dry mustard, and Worcestershire sauce in the ground beef mixture and either molasses and brown sugar (I had both with me, but couldn't remember which one the recipe called for). I got the ground beef mixture cooked up, and decided to use the molasses. Although the amounts of the ingredients didn't match the recipe, it tasted right, so I mixed up some cornbread batter and popped it in the oven. One down. It turns out that the recipe calls for brown sugar. I think I like it better with molasses. I'll change that recipe.

While the Cowboy Casserole ground beef mixture was cooking, I peeled the potatoes and started cooking them. Wilted the spinach, chopped it, and set it aside. These potatoes are mashed with sour cream, seasoned with salt and pepper, then the chopped spinach and some grated cheese is stirred in. I haven't made these in a while, but I make mashed potatoes all the time. So this was no big deal. The mashed potatoes came out great. I usually chop the spinach before wilting it. This time I wilted the spinach, then chopped it. It was easier. Made a note to change that recipe.

The pork is marinated in balsamic vinegar, olive oil, chopped fresh rosemary, salt, and pepper. Hmm, does the marinade have garlic? Well, everything is better with garlic and this client loves garlic, so I minced a few cloves and added them to the marinade. Turns out that the marinade does not include garlic. Until now, because I'm also going to change that recipe.

OK, so now it is time to wander into the less known territory. My client isn't back from her errands with my clipboard case. What to do? I honestly have no idea how to make the black bean burgers and the edamame, so I decide to tackle the paella. I know that it has onions and garlic that need chopping. And that the shrimp is cooked first, then set aside. The chicken thighs are chopped and browned with chopped chorizo. I can get that started while waiting for my client to come home. Just as I finish all of that, my client arrives home with the clipboard. Yahoo, perfect timing. The paella is simmering on the stovetop in no time.

Now that I have the recipe, the black bean burgers go together very quickly and get popped in the oven to bake. On to the barbecue sauce for the edamame. Oh, this is where the molasses belong. First you make the barbecue sauce, then simmer the edamame in the sauce. Wow, both of these recipes were easy, as long as you have the recipe in front of you.

Today I learned a lot about how I cook and how I really use recipes. I don't use the recipe directions a lot, but I do use the ingredient lists. I don't follow the ingredient list exactly, but I also don't memorize them. Some things I just know how to make, but when faced with a giant pile of groceries, it isn't always easy to figure out how to combine them into the dish you want to make.

Rather than being stressful, this day was fun. If my client hadn't been home and hadn't offered to pick up my clipboard, I could have just driven home and printed the recipes. It is about 2 miles from the client's home to my home and about 4 miles from my client's home to the grocery store.

Tomorrow my client is about 20 minutes from the grocery store, so I'm considering using the secret agent trick of handcuffing my clipboard case to my wrist.

Posted June 23, 2008 5:35 PM in Cook Dates

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6 Comment(s)

Kris said… (on June 23, 2008 at 19:00 PM #)

LOL Patti...you handled this like a pro. I always take along my Mastercook shopping list, so, in a pinch, I can "wing it" from there. Newfound flavors are always good...and remember, recipes are really just "concepts", unless we are baking. Maybe that is why I do not like baking!

Pedro said… (on June 23, 2008 at 19:11 PM #)

Although it's great to feel comfortable with ingredients and flavors to be able to combine and create something from nothing (or at least without a recipe) sometimes that little piece of paper is essential to being able to pull off your meal.

MarcyK said… (on June 23, 2008 at 20:12 PM #)

This was a GREAT read and gave me a belly laugh that was llong needed. Kudos, P!! You Iron Chef you!! :)

P.S. I do the same thing - I take my shopping list to the client's just in case. I may start bringing my laptop.

Patti said… (on June 23, 2008 at 20:27 PM #)

Of course I take my shopping list with me to the client's. It's right there on the clip of the clipboard case! The recipes, labels, invoice, and my calculator are inside the clipboard case. I have forgotten to put recipes in the clipboard, leaving them at home. I've done my share of cook dates working just from the shopping list.

Fran said… (on June 24, 2008 at 12:41 PM #)

I am in awe of what you do/did! I couldn't cook those many dishes in one day--with or without recipes! You are a FABULOUS cook, Patti!

Rachel said… (on July 2, 2008 at 11:51 AM #)

Patti, This is an awesome story, I love how you saw this as an opportunity and actually discovered some great tweaks for some of your recipes!


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