I'm a "new" cook - are you?

My youngest son got me interested in watching Alton Brown and Giada, and that was the beginning of a wonderful era in my life. Since my wife works two late afternoons a week and plays tennis on another one, I have the cooking "duty" on those days. (We usually eat out on Friday and Saturday)>

I have been collecting recipes from four newspapers - the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Pioneer Press. I also have a huge notebook of recipes from TV-mainly Good Eats and Everyday Italian.

My wife's only complaint is that many of the dishes I prepare are pretty high in calories, but I really have a good time! I'll try anything, including my all-time high in numbers of ingredients, a Japanese chicken dish from the Trib that had 25 things in it and took forever to make. (It was really good, though).

I love this new hobby of mine (I'm almost 72) and it keeps me out of trouble. If there is a down side, it is that sometimes what I buy at the store for a given recipe costs more than going out to eat that night! I also get the cooking duty whenever we have guests. I would say that my most successful dinner party dishes have been Chicken Vesuvio from the Trib last January (a top ten recipe) and Pork Tenderloin Wrapped in Pancetta (Giada).

I would be interested in hearing from anyone else who has taken up cooking at a very late date in their lives and what they like to make.

HI,

Congratulations! You found a new hobby coinciding with your wife retiring from kitchen duties!

The following are observations of my Dad and those of my friends when the cooking hobby suddenly struck late in life:

When a dear friend went into semi-retirement, he decided to reorganize the kitchen to make it "more efficient." While it occupied an afternoon pleasantly, he had hell to pay for it when his wife returned home. It certainly did give him something to do the next day when everything was returned to the "correct" place.

When I was still a kid, this same friend surprised his family with a meal. The dish called for three garlic cloves. The house needed intense fumigating on a very cold night because he threw in three bulbs instead. He grew up in Brooklyn in a Polish emigrant family who knew nothing about garlic. I thought it was funny, though his daughter didn't.

About twenty years ago, my Dad suddenly took up a keen interest in cooking. He would read carefully the Joy of Cooking, then prepare the dish. He would roast chickens with thermometers stuck in the poor beast. He would then tell me his observations about how the stuffing stayed cool until very near the end. Had I noticed this? Of course I hadn't because I wasn't relying on thermometers. He began shadowing me in the kitchen to understand better what to do. Unfortunately he didn't just watch, he asked lots of pesky questions beginning with the word: Why?

***

My wife's only complaint is that many of the dishes I prepare are pretty high in calories, but I really have a good time!

It probably tastes good, too!

If there is a down side, it is that sometimes what I buy at the store for a given recipe costs more than going out to eat that night!

I have been making German apple pancakes lately. The ingredients I have to go out for are apples, 1/2 pint cream (I only need 2-4 tablespoons) and jumbo eggs. While my apple pancake serves 6 people generously, the cost of the non-stock ingredients do begin to rival purchasing an apple pancake at Walker Brothers. While at one level it is not as economical, I have the pleasure of serving an apple pancake my niece recently said, "Tastes better than Walker Brothers."

I also get the cooking duty whenever we have guests. I would say that my most successful dinner party dishes have been Chicken Vesuvio from the Trib last January (a top ten recipe) and Pork Tenderloin Wrapped in Pancetta (Giada).

Your wife and friends are very fortunate.

Regards,

For more inspiration, you might check out the wonderful listing of recipes that have appeared over the years on LTHForum. There is one comprehensive list that will take you to the posts that have recipes.

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=6235

And the added benefit of these recipes is you know someone else has already tried them out and liked them well enough to pass them along.

Enjoy your kitchen adventures.

Hi,

Another feature of those recipes, people here have tried them and can answer questions as you proceed.

Regards,