Sub-subtitle: This is the 450th post to this blog, if you can believe it
So I am quite proud of myself tonight. I set a goal for myself and I saw it through. I have decided to periodically cook some of the recipes I've watched Angry Chef make on TV for several reasons . . . I want to see if they taste good, I want to see if I am capable, I want to try new things and I want to challenge myself. Life's gotta be about growth. Learning new skills, reading new information, failing sometimes but being willing to pick up the pieces and make another try. Yeah, yeah, it sounds way corny but I must admit that Angry Chef's sheer passion for food and for teaching people to cook is infectious. When you see him kicking people's asses on Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares and staging lessons for the desperate on the F Word it makes you think, "Hey-- if these people can do it, maybe I can, too. It's gotta be worth a try." Try I did and I am happy to report, it was a success. I am genuinely proud of myself. It wasn't a cheap proposition by any means. Goodness gracious. You begin to see yet another facet of how craptastically un-valuable the dollar is when you buy just the groceries for one meal and feel like you have been bled dry. But that's beside the point; I said I was going to make it a reality and I did. I made his recipe for beef wellington with potatoes for the entree and his hot chocolate fondant with ice cream for dessert and it was really good. It's pretty cool to look down at a finished product and say, "I made this. I didn't buy it, I didn't go to a restaurant, I spent several hours doing the prep work and I made this with my own hands today." I learned some new techniques and terminology in the process and I'll be trying out more of his recipes soon. It was a rewarding experience and one that I'd recommend to anyone, even the kitchen-phobes in my life.
Cutting up mushrooms for the puree that goes around the wellington . . . and nearly cutting my finger off because I was distracted by Quentin while I watched Dark Shadows (blimey, David Selby is gorgeous in that role).
I was praying to Jesus Almighty at this point that the wellington would "set" properly in the fridge and that I had enough puff pastry dough to spread over the thing.
Instant relief! It all fit!
The ultimate reward: a delicious, attractive finished product.
I didn't get any photos of the fondant due to its immediate devouring, LOL.
Now get thee hence and cook.
