People tell my wife she’s a great cook. That’s something that I don’t think I will ever hear. Not because I don’t cook, but because I’m a bad cook. Trust me, I’ve tried. I guess you can say it’s the thought that counts (which is what she said) but that’s probably just a way to make you feel better about yourself!
It was November, and it was a nice Sunday afternoon. We were sitting around at home, watching TV, you know doing the usual Sunday afternoon stuff. Then I had the great idea to cook dinner that night. It sounded like a good idea when it was in my head, but I would later learn that it wasn’t exactly the smartest thing to do. I asked my wife what she wanted and she said “surprise me” (big mistake). It was at that point I decided I’d make her rice and curry chicken. Mind you, I had never cooked chicken in my life.
I was pretty inspired to do it, immediately left home for the grocery store. Gathered all the required ingredients and came back home feeling like I had accomplished something. That’s when I realized I was way over my head! You would think following a recipe is easy, but not when you have not one cooking bone in your body. I thought I was doing a good job, but the food thought otherwise. The curry was too watery, the chicken was too rubbery and the rice was undercooked. However, I had no clue. I was still excited that I had actually done any of this…
I made the dining table look nice, put a candle in the center and my presentation was perfect. My wife sat down, I served her the undercooked rice and rubbery chicken and she took a bite. I could tell immediately that she wasn’t impressed, but she smiled and said “It’s great! Thanks so much…” Of course, she did not go back for seconds.
I told her that I’d better stick to just eating the food from here on out. Not surprisingly, she agreed.
I guess the moral of the story is, you shouldn’t cook if you can’t do it. It’s probably something you could learn, but that would require practice or some innate talent. As you can tell from my story, I possess neither of those things. Cooking truly is an art, and is akin to any other mastery that someone may have. It sure is nice to dream, though!