Danger Will Robinson!
It’s that most wonderful time of the year, when we all hang out in our kitchens and create some (hopefully) great food. Okay, maybe not all of us do it. But this is the time of year when new and semi-experienced cooks can get into trouble because they’re doing what I’ve been suggesting for years: reading recipes. I still encourage everyone to read recipes. But you sometimes have to be unknowingly careful.
Unknowingly careful? Well, I just read a guacamole recipe by a famous cookbook author and tv chef. She recommends taking the pit out of the avocado, and then removing the skin. So far, so good. Then things get shaky. She recommends putting the avocado in a bowl, and dicing it with a knife. Really? If someone does that, they’ll either mangle the knife, or their fingers. The last time I checked, that’s why we have cutting boards.
Then there was the hugely famous tv chef and cookbook author who, in a national and free magazine with a zillion readers, suggested that a new cook make hash brown in a cast iron skillet, and halfway through the cooking, “flip them over.” Really? Hmmm. I think just as the hash browns were either airborne or sliding off of a breaking plate being used for the flipping, the new cook might be reconsidering trying their hand at cooking ever again.
So here’s my advice: if you’ve never made the recipe before, look it over, and visualize any steps you’ve never tried before. If they seem odd, then they probably are. Figure out the result that you want, and follow the path of least resistance. And the also follow the path that will let you keep your fingers and thumbs intact.
