Castle Shima

As a child I was what is known as a "fussy eater." 'He's fussy! He's a fussy eater!' "Fussy eater" is a euphemism for "Big pain in the ass."
-- George Carlin

Cooking normally isn't that big of a deal for most people. After all, almost everyone I know learned from their family or have their own family to cook for. I had never really been trained in that sort of thing and never really had a reason.

For most of my life, I've been the typical male that relied on others to handle the chore of cooking. While growing up, there was the mother and grandmother parental units. In college and the following decades, there was the poor female that happened to be in my life at the time. Even if I wasn't seeing anyone, I could always rely on my three neighbors: Wendy, Ron McDonald, and the King of Burger.

And if that didn't work, there was always the microwave. Oh, and the toaster. I could make a really mean pop-tart.

Then, at some point, you just get sick of having the same thing over and over again. Its not only unhealthy, but it gets plain downright boring.

Next thing I know, I've bought a pan. Then I bought I another. Then I ended up with a spatula, a wok, a bottle of olive oil, and several pairs of tongs.

Then I started watching the Cooking Channel too much. Don't get me wrong. I used to watch Rachel Ray on the Food Network all the time, but it wasn't the same thing. Watching her was more because she's a cutie as opposed to the food.

Now my DVR is loaded with episodes of chuck's Day Off, Cook Like An Iron Chef, and Kitchen Essentials.

Michael Symon, the host of Cook Like An Iron Chef, has this saying: "If you learn a recipe, you make a great dish. If you learn technique, you can make several great dishes."

That made sense to me. It even fits with my personality. Not only do I have yet another hobby, but its got nifty toys too! I even get to play with knives!

My latest experiments involved scrambled eggs and steaks. Simple right? But then again you never realize how much you can alter your food by simply changing your technique.

Here's a hint from Gordon Ramsey, who is funny as hell:


Butter? I had never done that before. Damn!

So one night for dinner I end up with portobello caps, eggs, cherry tomatos, and steak (I'll do the bread for breakfast).


Then a week later, my science project ended up being another steak, cherry tomatos, and spinach with garlic.


At least this time, I remembered to cut the meat against the grain. And before anyone says anything, I wanted the meat to come out medium rare so it actually worked out.

I will never, ever become a chef or even some worthwhile cook. I wouldn't even declare myself a foodie. The way I figure it, if the kitchen doesn't burn down, then I am in pretty good shape.