Success in cooking

My cousin Simon frequently blogs about his culinary adventures. I actually got to see Simon and his wife Eve last week on their last leg of their trip to Georgia, and we made some brownies together. It was very fitting, because within such a small activity we both obtained some pretty significant blog content.

We were making the brownies at my cousin Rochelle's house. Rochelle is a tremendous cook, but she hates doing it. She has to do it because otherwise her three young kids would starve, but that's probably her only motivation. That night she made this amazing BBQ pork on the grill which you could pile high on a bun and enjoy to the max.

I, on the other hand, usually cook with much trepidation and fear. For a long time, I was a horrible cook. I didn't know how to measure things right or look for a good recipe. Plus I never really had a lot of opportunities to try. When you're single, primarily cooking for yourself, you're basically fine with eating a lot of the same meals over and over again.

However, since I bought my house I've been struck with this desire to cook. I got some good cookbooks as presents from sister-in-law and slowly took advantage of opportunities to make things. I was super careful with how I made it, asked for help when it was available, and picked really simple things so I would feel more successful. So far, it's been amazing. And I love it!

Probably the hardest thing I've made was Chocolate Indulgence Cheesecake for Nathan and Jamie's engagement party last Sunday (the pic is of all of Jamie's bridesmaids except her friend Laura who lived too far away to come). It called for things I never had to use before like coffee extract, which I never was able to find, but was able to use kahlua instead. I also had never made a cheesecake before. So it was quite a gamble. But the extra batter on the beaters tasted pretty good and so did my spoon sample of the kahlua topping, so I felt hopeful about the result. It ended up being a huge success with only once slice remaining on the plate at the end of the night! The best part was Nathan's mom sincerely begging me for the recipe, which was a first for me. And she's like a cook extraordinaire!! I felt really satisfied and my confidence level boosted like way up.

Here's a link to the recipe if you want to check it out! Oh yeah, and it was low-carb.