UPDATE: A Work in Progress

Although I really want this blog to contain great recipes, it is also a place where I can explore my mistakes.  I have been somewhat embarrassed to show my failures, but a large percentage of what I actually do is cooking the same thing over and over again trying to get it right.  The first time might be perfect, but the second or third, or even forth time might not be.  For the most part, my recipes fail because I simply don't follow the recipe to the letter or I invent a completely new recipe out of my head.  Or, I try recipes that are new and not rigorously tested like vegan or gluten-free options.  I'm confident enough in my cooking skills that I feel I don't need to pay close attention to every step.  However, I can be overly confident, and that's where mistakes are made.   

This blog was made to document my progress, to show when things went right or wrong, and to bring a more scientific approach to my cooking.  Looking back over these past weeks, it is amazing to see what has come out of my kitchen, but it has also made me very aware of the changes in the way I approach food.  In school, some of my instructors had us keep a journal for each class, which I found very rewarding.  Writing down both my thoughts and feelings about the food I made, and the specific ways in which I created it (changes to the recipes, cooking times, equipment, what I would do differently next time) was a valuable way of analyzing my progress.  This blog has been all that and more.  

So, today, I would like to share some of the things that went wrong in my kitchen over the past few days.  This kind of analysis, I have learned, is extremely beneficial.  Hopefully, it will mean the next meal will be even better.

First off, in my last post about Potato Leek Soup with Spicy Sausage, I mentioned I had trouble with the raw sausage I had bought.  I feel pretty dumb about it all because I forgot, for a minute, how to actually cook raw sausage.  But I did go back and fix it.  All it took was cooking the sausage first, then cutting it and frying the coins:

These little sausage bites were crispy and delicious and made a perfect garnish to my hot Brussels sprouts slaw (even though I slightly overcooked the brussels, as you can see from the olive green color...they should be a fresh, spring green).

Secondly, I tried the paleo pizza crust again.  I knew my first attempt was less than adequate, but the major problem with the original recipe was that it contained mozzarella.  I can't eat mozzarella, so I had to find another way to bind the cauliflower together.  My first attempt was to add more egg to the mixture, but that just made it soft and eggy...not crispy like I wanted it to be.  This time, I added in only 1 egg and about 1/2 cup garbonzo bean flour.  I use garbonzo bean flour all the time, and it crisps up nicely, so I though that adding it the cauliflower would create a nice dough for the crust.  I pureed the cauliflower, egg, salt, and garbonzo bean flour together so it created a fine dough.

You can clearly see that it did not work out as well as intended.  And, yes, I did oil this baking sheet!  I think I didn't add enough flour to the mixture because the dough was very wet.  The taste was actually very delicious (we still enjoyed it!), but I have yet to make it perfectly.  Eating gluten-free is sometimes quite hard.  But I do feel like I'm on to something...I think I just need more flour...or maybe a different kind of flour?  I need something to both make a dry dough and hold the cauliflower together.  Well, I will keep trying.  And I'll let you know of my progress!

Although I did go to school to learn how to cook, I'm obviously still a novice.  I have not yet perfected anything, though a lot of good food comes out of my kitchen, and it keeps getting better.

If any of you are interested in seeing a real master, I recommend watching Jiro Dreams of Sushi.  It is about a man who spends his whole life devoted to perfecting the art of sushi.  It is both humbling and inspiring.  It reminds me that I have my whole life to make mistakes, but hopefully, someday, I will get things right. :)