My Culinary Journey

I want to share something I rarely talk about today on the blog - where I learned to cook.  I guess this isn't something that many of us really think about.  We either learn from family, or teach ourselves from cookbooks, the lucky pick it up naturally, and some are fortunate enough to go to culinary school.  It is just one of those skills that you seem to either pick up or you don't.  For some it feels like a chore, and for others it is a relaxing activity that is looked forward to.

I mostly learned how to cook from my mom, which when I think about it, is kinda ironic.  When my parents got married, my mom had mastered one dish - scrambled eggs.  There were a few disasters that we heard about over the years, with the most notorious being a "boiled meatball" incident.  She started to pick up more and more skills over the years out of necessity and from family and friends, and probably a cookbook or two!

When I was 5 or 6 years old, my mom let me enter the New Jersey State Fair's childrens' cooking contest.  I very clearly remember making mashed potato candies in the dining room of the apartment we were living in then.  My mom made instant mashed potatoes, and when they were cool enough, I measured out the other ingredients, and rolled them into logs.  My mom melted some chocolate, and I drizzled it down the logs.  I remember placing them on a decorated paper plate and taking them to the fair to have them entered in the contest.  I couldn't believe what I saw when I got to the fair - a HUGE ribbon attached to my plate!  My mom and I both entered food in the fair year after year, and both of us brought home lots of ribbons in our respective categories and competitions.  After a while the fair was closed and stopped coming to our area.

When the fair closed, my mom started teaching me how to cook some other foods at home.  The first dinner I ever cooked was meatballs.  I remember my eyes barely clearing the stove top, and having to carefully reach my hand over the top of the pot to put the meatballs in the sauce to cook.  My mom would lift me up to see the meatballs cooking in the sauce.  I loved the way the meatballs danced in the sauce, and the bubbles in the sauce stretching to their breaking points and finally bursting, sending a splash across the pot.  I moved on to more and more dishes, and unknowingly started storing techniques and facts in my head.

We moved to our house when I was 10.  Within our first year in our house, my mom became very ill with Cushing's Syndrome.  At the time, her doctors did not know what was wrong with her, and it took them close to a year to diagnose her.  During that year I started helping a lot more with keeping the house and cooking.  My mom was sick a lot and in and out of the hospital quite a bit, my brother was only 5, and my dad was working and trying to take care of my mom.  Cooking and cleaning literally became child's play for me, but I didn't mind and started to get a little comfortable in the kitchen by myself.

A year after my mom had her adrenal gland (which had become a tumor) removed, she was pregnant with my sister.  Her pregnancy was high risk, and she was on light duty and bedrest for the majority of the nine months.  Again, during this time, I stepped up and helped a lot with cooking.  I started to get a little bit more adventurous, and veer away from meals like fish sticks.  My mom talked me through making dishes like pan fried cubed beef, stews, and casseroles.

When I was in high school I took a job at a deli in Woodbury called Caterer's Corner, which some of you might remember as being called Beck's or Impromptu Caterer's.  The deli introduced me to a whole new world of cooking.  I started picking up skills such as using a slicer, preparing very large quantities, using catering equipment such as warming boxes and chaffing dishes, and most importantly about dealing with the public in the food and service industries.

High school was also when my mom handed over the Thanksgiving responsibilities to me.  We have always had a very large homemade Thanksgiving, with lots and lots of options on the table.  My first year was a success, with the exception of the turkey I cooked upside down.  What can I say, other than the meat was extremely moist!  Some dishes I knew how to make with my eyes closed, but others required mom's guidance.  I now look forward to making Thanksgiving dinner every year, and actually get quite upset if I am not going to get to cook.  In all honesty, I would rather host Thanksgiving for 50 people, than miss out on making the feast!

Thankgiving 2008 - we invited our entire extended family over for dinner.  We had about 20 people over, and then about 10 more for dessert.  It was so much fun! 

Me in the kitchen on Thanksgiving Day 2008 - aka my happy place!

When I left for college, I knew that my time in the kitchen was going to be cut significantly thanks to the lack of kitchens/pantries and appliances.  I learned to make meals with just a pot or two on a stove top and with the help of a microwave.  I got creative with vegetables in the salad bar line, grilled chicken from the hot line, and cheese and milk.

When I moved back to Woodbury in 2007 after college and grad school, I finally realized how much I had missed being in the kitchen!  I spent as much time as I could in there, brushing up on basic skills and getting my bearings back.  At this point, mom had been diagnosed with adrenal cancer for about a year, but was still in decent health.  She was going through chemo, which made cooking a bit of a challenge.  Her diet changed.  Foods she used to love were no longer appealing to her, but foods she never wanted before were suddenly delicious, and her diet require high amounts of potassium.  I learned to adapt our family's favorite recipes to her new tastes and dietary requirements.  Some of the changes were so popular, that we still use them!

Mom and Dad - Christmas 2008.  We always make a huge spread of snacks on Christmas Eve for after church.  We come home and munch while watching A Christmas Story!

In 2009 I lost my job, and my mom went into hospice about 2 weeks later.  They were not the circumstances we had hoped for, on either account, but it worked out in some way.  I was home to take care of her, and we were able to spend a lot of time together.  I had a lot of time on my hands and delved into some serious reading!  Around the time I lost my job, ads for the movie Julie & Julia started to trickle online.  I was intrigued and picked up a copy of the book, which I proceeded to not put down.  I then ran out for a copy of Julia Child's My Life In France.  How stereotypical of me...become obsessed with Julia Child and start cooking like my life depends on it.  I think in some way my life did depend on it.  The time I was cooking was the time when I could let all of my thoughts and concerns go.  I went into this new head space I had never found before in the kitchen...it was like I was one with Julia!  I started to get adventurous and try dozens of new techniques and cooking styles.

My mom passed away in September that year.  I started searching for a job again, but still had a ridiculous amount of time on my hands.  After receiving a copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volume I, I started exploring French cuisine and cooking techniques.  My dad, sister, and brother were not complaining!

My dad has played a part in my cooking too, but not quite in the same way as mom.  My dad doesn't spend much time in the kitchen, mostly at my and my sister's requests (ok...pleading).  Dad likes to add secret ingredients to EVERYTHING, and not necessarily in a good way.  What I love about dad's cooking though, is his reckless abandon.  He will add anything his tastebuds are craving, whether it sounds logical or not.  His feeling is, if it tastes good, it tastes good, and if it doesn't, it doesn't.  I sometimes wish I could be as brave as he is in that sense, but it has rubbed off on me a little bit! 

That brings us to where I am now in my journey.  I took a job at Caterer's Corner (where I worked in high school), and look at the business side of things a little differently now that I know I want my career to focus on something culinary.  I am branching out and starting to cook in ways that were normally not successful for me (like baking), and am learning a lot.  I learned that cooking is a lot more than just getting food on the table.

What I really hope is that this is just the start of my culinary journey.  It may have took a lot of time (a lot of reading for you guys hehe) to get here, but I really thing it is just the start.  Maybe everything my family and I have been through is just to make me appreciate this experience more!