Recipes: tried & true.

  

 

Ever since reading this post, I've had tomato sauce simmering in my mind.  A while back, we took advantage of a killer sale on San Marzano canned tomatoes and stocked up... whole, diced, crushed, and paste.  This weekend - the first weekend of Autumn - was the perfect time to prepare a good ol' spaghetti dinner ~ homemade salad dressing, croutons, ice cream and all.  Thanks to these guidelines, with a little pancetta and Cabernet, the sauce was the true highlight of the meal.

 

As corporate & coffee savvy as I once was, the opposite was true in my own kitchen.  CLUELESS, would be an apt word to describe my former culinary abilities.  God bless Ryan [and Top Ramen] during those years.  When leaving Starbucks behind, my first goal was to learn to cook (and entertain), really well. I spent the first three years purchasing cookbooks and really studying food- through these books, magazines, food shows, websites, etc... and of course, experimenting with lots of recipes. Last year, my focus was learning to cook smarter- more economical, planned, creative use of leftovers, freezing/storing/labeling/prepping.

    

This year, my goal is to take all of what I have learned and develop the confidence to adapt recipes, to create new ones, and to manage my timing, so that cooking remains a passion, and not a chore... and not something that will take so much time that all else is sacrificed. Needless to say, the Three Many Cooks blog is 'coming to me' at the PERFECT time in my life.   When sharing my kitchen woes and aims with my sister-in-law, she recommended Pam Anderson (no, not that "Pam Anderson"), and lent me this cookbook.  Coincidentally, others pointed me in her direction as well- crediting her for truly teaching them to cook.  A couple of recipes later, and I was hooked.    The first cookbook that empowered me to be the chef of my own kitchen.

 

After reluctantly returning the cookbook, I came across food52's post, a perfect description of her {new-to-me} blog that she shares with her two amazing daughters.  Their unique styles, their dialogue with and support of one another, their detailed- yet simple and 'loose' recipes, and each accompanying story, makes me feel like I've either attended a cooking class or spent an evening in the kitchen with my friends and family.  I cannot wait to cook and entertain my way through their fabulous new cookbook, Perfect One-Dish Dinners. 

 

This time, along with the links to some favorite posts, I thought I'd share a few of comments I wrote, which truly reflect my appreciation for the three many cooks - Maggy, Sharon, and Pam.

 

A One-Dish Dinner Celebration...I cannot fully express just how much your style of cooking and writing (as well as your – and your daughter’s – stories on this blog) resonate with me, in general, but at this particular time in my life.  I just want to say, thank you…

For teaching me to be a better cook, to rely on the knowledge that I have built since ’staying at home’ over the past few years – instead of following every recipe to a “T”- and most importantly, for eliminating feelings of frustration- that I was 'spending my life' in the kitchen! I honestly stopped entertaining and have cooked much less, because although I LOVE doing both, I just wasn’t up for giving up everything else! And thanks to you, I know now that I don’t have to.

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Confessions of a New York Cook...I love reading your ‘comments’ and discussion with one another. You each have such an amazing talent in writing, you offer a support that is inspiring and uplifting, and you share great points and unique aspects to the topic at hand!

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Freezer Peaches...This is why I love this site. Simple recipes that you just don’t see in fancy cookbooks or food blogs, but that I love and need of equal (if not, greater) importance!