Ad hoc Cooking

For the first time, last night, I found myself cooking without the help of a recipe book. Good grief what was I going to do? I had been given an hours notice to cook dinner for 6 people. One person who I wanted to make sure would recognize my culinary skills and 2 of them being my biggest critics.

There was no time to go shopping for anything except the most rudimentary ingredients. There was no scope to prepare the perfect menu. From my point of view, nothing can be done without meticulously planning it down to the last grain of salt.

Thankfully my grandmother had sent over some mushroom crepes in white sauce. There was enough for everybody and it was delicious to boot. The first thing I needed to come up with was a fresh salad.

I sautéed some garlic and onions in olive oil, with only salt, pepper and loads of powdered nutmeg. Then I tossed in shredded red cabbage, bean sprouts and spring onions. I switched of the flame and let it cook in its own heat. The trick worked, the vegetables stayed nice and crispy. The aroma from the nutmeg was perfect, there, but not over bearing.

I still needed another something for the main course. Crepes weren’t going to be enough. Any conventional pasta would have been overkill. The solution lay in the unconventional.

I pulled out my wheat spaghetti and boiled them. On the second burner I heated a combination of extra virgin olive oil and Italian dipping oil. In came some more (or should I say a huge amount) of garlic. When this was ready to fry, I added in fresh mushrooms, green olives, cherry tomatoes and baby corn. On this I sprinkled loads of paprika (the pizza chilly kind) and Italian seasoning. As the vegetables started releasing water, I took it of the flame and mixed it in with the pasta. Now all it needed was some salt and to be tossed so that the oil coated the pasta.

We were in business, dinner was served and I helped everyone take a little of everything. Then as they started digging in, I followed the expressions around me with more trepidation than I showed.

At the end of 20 minutes, except for 2 spoons of pasta and 4 spoons of salad, there was nothing left. And 5 people got of the table saying that the food was fantastic. If I were to wager a guess, I think I would say I had succeeded in putting together a good ad hoc meal.

Few people would find something to be excited about in such a simple experience. Fewer still would think it was worth writing about. But I beg to differ.

Till last night I had never cooked anything without a recipe to follow or guidance from my mother. Nor had I ever made a meal in such a short time. It looks like I am finally getting a feel of how foods react when they are cooked and how to take advantage of this.

I don’t want to be just a good cook. I want to match if not surpass the standards of my mother and her mother. They are without doubt the world’s best meal creators I have ever encountered. The day I exist in the same league as them, that day I know I will be able to call myself a good cook.

Bon Appétit!