Bon Appetite

Ah, what do I have in common with Mrs. Julia Child. Let's see, she loved to cook, and I love to cook. She went to culinary school, and I went to culinary school. She wanted kids, and I wanted kids...she was a woman...ok, so it seems to stop there. But let us take a step back. She wanted children, but I had children. Four to be exact. Four of the most beautiful boys one could ever hope for. They're good in church, and do well in school, and they are polite, for the most part, in public. However, they are still boys, and my three year old is home with me all day long. Would Julia ever have progressed as far as she had, had she had to contend with cooking with and for children? Hmmm? I know many cooks do wonders with kids' meals, and advertise them as such. Great for them. However, I'm still in the learning process. I make things, I offer it to them to try, and I encourage good nutrition, but I am a realist. I know I did not like tomatoes and other things until I got older, no matter how many times I had to eat them. And I still don't like liver. I recall a night or two with my sister falling asleep at the table while my parents were waiting for her to finish whatever it was she didn't want to eat. I think it was after the second or third incident of such that my folks finally gave up and gave us the option of cheese or peanut butter or cereal. We all want to take our stands in life, until we can't stand it anymore.
So, yesterday, feeling quite alive and ambitious, I began the day with a dozen homemade blueberry muffins. They were in the oven before I even started making the kids' school lunches. As the baking aroma filled the kitchen and crept into the back room, several inquiries were made as to their contents and e.t.a. From a bakery standpoint, they were exquisite. They were light, fluffy, fruity, with a touch of citrus from the lemon rind, but not too sweet or sour. Even my wife agreed to their delectibility, albeit smothered in butter. Then came the kids. They were sampled by two of my children, neither of which did more than that. They did say that they were good, but I guess they were only good enough for one bite or two, At least they sampled them. Right? So, I enjoyed these fruity delights throughout the day as I dove into dinner offerings.
Now, I should have learned by now, and now I have, but when you try to please everyone, you usually end up dry, and seldom happy yourself. Chicken Tikka and Iowa Corn Pudding was on the menu for last night. I should have just made it and been done with it, especially since I had made a tasty mango chutney the night before to accompany it. However, I had to go and make inquiries as to who might try and eat it, and who might not. So, very quickly, the corn pudding fell to be revisited another day, and the Chicken Tikka became one of three bbq chicken offerings. Jim, my three year old, napped well, and I was able to cut and skewer and blend and marinate easy enough. In fact, he even stayed asleep long enough for me to pump out a batch of chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Now, if he slept that well at night, we'd all love him the more. The barbequeing commenced when my wife came home and when all was said and done, the Tikka was being eaten by my eldest, my wife and myself, with pleasant reviews. The other two chicken offeings sat practically unmolested, with the youngest three of my children eating cereal. I figure I can offer it, but I can't force them to eat it. The worst part is I totally forgot to put out the mango chutney. However, all did like the chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

Self lesson learned: Decide what's for dinner; make it, serve it, and have cereal handy...but always have a good dessert.

Say Cheese

Yesterday morning I was hungry before the entourage awoke and decided to work on something instead of just making myself breakfast and eating alone. I opened my On Cooking book to the quick breads section and immediately saw biscuits. Some cold butter, dry ingredients and a little mixing later, I was cutting out bicuits and laying about 15 of them on a parchment lined pan. As I was placing them into the oven, I thought to myself how, with my wife constantly dieting and my kids looking for frosting around every turn, I'd be eating a breakfast of 15 bicuits, hold the gravy, by myself. Happily, the baking smell enticed some, and during breakfast clean up, I was storing only 4 biscuits...one of which I've had already this morning. Sometimes kids surprise you.
Took a trip to my favorite cheap wine store around 3:00, with my eldest for company. I know he was bored, but since he was bored at home anyway, I think the private time and good company was welcomed. While there, I also picked up some cheese. I had heard Brie was creamy and light. They were right. I had three cheeses with my Petite Sirah last night, the Brie, a firmer one year aged Gouda, and a much harder, two year aged Gouda. Three totally different tastes. The Brie is thick but creamy. It was not runny, as I had been warned to avoid. It was somewhat difficult to pull away from the wax and spread onto the cracker, but worth the effort, for the mild taste had a subtle pleasant flavor which went along with the gentle, unassuming flavor of the wine I chose. The two year aged Gouda was hard and had a hard but not that distinct of flavor as one might think. To me, it tasted close to a parmesan. However, to its own defense, its waxed edges also had a somewhat crispy candied appeal to them. I thought this bolder taste leant itself for towards a warmer, more velvety wine, like a Zinfandel or Cabernet. Fortunately, the Sirah was on my palate already and comingled nicely.
The third cheese I had, my favourite, was the one year aged Gouda. This cheese was distinctive as a Gouda should be, but not strong, and firm, but not hard. I think I will share these with my mother today when we go to visit. She shares my palate to some extent, and this way I can forgo the pizza she is buying for my wife and kids. I do enjoy pizza, but not quite as often as kids seem to, and with so many other foods, I have come to spoil myself with my own cooking. I may not make the best pizza, but again, I make what I like.
Thought for the day:

Sample wares, listen to suggestions of food and wine, but in the long run, eat and drink what you like. If you are drinking a wine because someone who KNOWS told you it's good, but you don't like it, you are pleasing him or her and doing yourself a disservice. Live well, laugh often, love much!

In The Beginning

Hello, this is Eric. I am a stay at home father of four boys with the most wonderful, beautiful Irish lass this side of the Atlantic for my wife. I was originally going to title this first entry, "Co To Jest", which means what is this, in Polish, because that is my heritage, but didn't want to scare off anyone with a fear of foriegn languages. I, myself took French in highschool and college, which did benefit me a bit when it came to culinary school. Ever since Julia Child everything in cooking is French, or it is name specific to something else. Go figure!?!
Anyway, I call this blog, "Eric's Kitchen" for a couple of reasons. For one, all my life I thought that when I grew up and opened my own restaurant, I would call it, "Eric's"; plain and simple. Just like Michele's, Luigi's, Delmoico's...etc. However, as you can see by the above, I am not there at this time in my life. It is also about my kitchen, and what runs through it. Let me tell you that my kitchen is not one of these 6 burner range, double electric oven, walk in cooler, granite counter top island extavaganzas. It is a modest 8x16 walk through, single gas oven, four top range, where the refrigerator blocks 1/4 of the window, the garbage can is 10 feet from the sink, and I have 6 square feet of formica counter top space if I'm lucky. But as us confident men will say, "Size doesn't matter." I produce more goodness from my little area then I've seen come out of some often over priced and underused warehouses people call their kitchens. Others have often commented that I seem to have a knack for good tasting food. This may be true, but I would attribute that to my tastebuds, because for what I make, I just stick by one of my culinary professors words, "Don't serve what you wouldn't eat." If I don't like it, I don't make it. Even if I get a request from someone to make something I've never tasted, I scrutinize and end up making it tasty to me.
Aside from good food, the other things that run in and through my kitchen are my four boys. They range from 10-3, and are each so different. I won't say what's right or what's wrong, because only the maker will let me know this when I pass, but love, laughter and good food will be shared. Therefore, I will continue to make entries now and again, but welcome anyone with questions, particularly on cooking. I find experience to be the best teacher, but necessity, invention and ingenuity often pave the way for some great results.
So, send me your questions, comments, and thoughts, but please be civil. I will do my best to entertain and effectively respond to all of them. Until next time, I leave you with this simple question:
When cooking foul, "Why do you truss a bird?" Because, if you can't truss a bird, who can you truss(t)?