Debunking the Cooking Myths

Debunking the Cooking Myths

It seems to me that there are four widely accepted rules about cooking, but last night’s dinner proved that rules are for breaking.  In fact, what many consider “cooking rules” are really more like “cooking myths”.

Four Myths About Cooking… all proven wrong by last night’s dinner:

Myth 1:  If you are a good cook, you get it right the first time.

Myth 2:  You should always follow the recipe.

Myth 3:  Cooking a great meal takes hours of prep and labor.

Myth 4:  It is all about taste.

Myths 1 and 2:  In my life outside of the kitchen, I spend a lot of time coaching.  One of my favorite mantras in coaching is that failure is underrated.  Some of the most successful people I know have also failed more than less successful counterparts.  I think the same holds true in the kitchen.  What makes someone super successful in or out of the kitchen is a willingness to try, and keep trying even after it does not work out.

Last night’s dinner is a perfect example.  I had pulled out a rack of lamb earlier in the day to do something with.  Instead of the very common herb crusted rack of lamb, I decided on mustard crusted rack of lamb.  This is only after surfing the internet some, and thumbing through a few cookbooks. My main inspiration came from the William and Sonoma website http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/rack-lamb-herb-mustard-crust.html  (I like to think that maybe part of my inspiration came from the fact that Chuck Williams of William and Sonoma died this last December 5th at 100 years of age).

 

I lined up my potential ingredients that included:  Bread Crumbs, Dijon Mustard, Worcestershire Sauce, olive oil, and a Mediterranean meat rub, and started combining in a mixing bowl…too salty!  The combination and the fact that the rub had a very high salt content, made it just too salty.  Instead of trying to work the salt out of it by adding other ingredients, I opted to pour it down the sink and start all over.

Jacque, my wife, is with me quite often in the kitchen. While she does cook, when we are together her role is primarily cleaning up after me, keeping me company, and most importantly - (well maybe not more important than cleaning up after me) - is tasting along the way.  When I tasted the first batch, I thought “Oh a little salty”, (confirmation bias, knowing I had combined several salt laden ingredients together); Jacque corrected me that it was more then a little and that is when I tossed it.  Again, don’t be afraid of failure, and when you are in a hole, stop digging.  In this case had I tried to add things, I could have just screwed it up more, and it was easier to start over.

So my second attempt included:

2 ½ tablespoons Dijon Mustard

2 tablespoons Olive Oil – (next time closer to 3, I will decide based on texture…you want a paste not a mortar)

1 ½ cup bread crumbs (next time I will go with at least 2 ½ cups)

1 – 2 teaspoons of the Mediterranean Meat Rub – (Next time I will start with one and taste and add more as Jacque tells me to)

I roasted at 450 degrees for approx. 20 minutes.

 

Myth 3: Jacque and I found a bottle of Tsillan Cellars 2013 Syrah in our wine cellar, and entered the kitchen at about 6:20 p.m. not knowing exactly what we were going to have for dinner. We were seated at our table enjoying before 7:00 p.m.  I immediately pre-heated the oven to 450 degrees – I like cooking certain meats at higher temperatures.  I then went to work making the rub, and upon getting it where I wanted it to be the second time around, began massaging it into my rack of lamb.  I opted to cut the rack into four pieces before roasting, and opted to not trim it in the traditional rack style.  If I were preparing this meal for company, or if Jacque and I were super hungry, I would have left the rack whole – This takes me to Myth 4. 

Our side dishes where simple.  I cleaned some Brussels sprouts by cutting the stems off and removing any loose leaves, and placed them in a sauté pan of steaming beef broth.  I finished them with just a little garlic salt and pepper.  I made a couscous and kalamata olives.

 

I combined the following in a saucepan:

1 cup boiling water

1 cup couscous

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/3 cup Kalamata Olives

¾ Teaspoon Mediterranean rub

I love couscous; it is simple to make, you can doctor it up many different ways, and it tastes good while not being unhealthy.  When I decided to add the rub to the couscous, I contemplated the non-empirical question every cook goes through at different points in formulating recipes regarding contrasting, complimenting, or highlighting different tastes.  I considered dropping the rub and maybe adding just a little feta cheese crumbles at the end to the couscous, or even raisins and almonds instead of the olives.  Anyone of those would had ‘plated’ very differently.

 

Myth 4:  Taste has to be at least 50% of any meal.  As a matter of fact I would contend that it does become 100% if it tastes awful.  But a meal can taste incredible and not be a perfect ten unless the presentation, ambiance, and of course the company all come into play.  Rather than looking at it as a pie, I would consider grading a meal more like a formula, reminding you that zero times anything is still zero.

By opting to cut the rack before roasting and not trimming the top of the rib bones, the presentation lacked.  Also, by cutting the rack into four pieces, I created substantially more surface area and ran short on the crust mixture.

About the wine: As I mentioned, tonight’s wine was a Tsillan Cellars 2013 Estate Syrah (http://www.tsillancellars.com).  We did not decant it, or really let it breath…opened it and drank it while cooking, eating dinner, and finished the last little bit while watching a movie together.  Very enjoyable wine. I want to say it had a hint of a woodsy taste to it, not a lot of tannins, and while we enjoyed it, I am disappointed that it was our only bottle of it, so I won’t be able to see what it would be like in two or three more years.

See note below about Tsillan Cellars Winemaker's Dinner this weekend.

While last night’s meal was by no means a failure, I did learn from several mistakes along the way.  This included, you don’t need to always have a recipe in front of you…just go for it!  It did not take hours of prep, and it is a blast cooking with the love of your life at the counter chatting with you, sipping wine, and helping along the way.  This meal’s score was carried by the taste, ambiance, and undoubtedly the company - (just the two of us). All in all, I consider that a success.  Just remember, rules? No. Myths. Trust your intuition in the kitchen, like anywhere else. In the kitchen, as in life, you are constrained only by the limitations you put on yourself.

It has been a while since I have blogged; hope to be back on it.  Your comments and conversation left on the blog whether positive, negative, critical, or suggestive, are all appreciated and inspire me to keep it up!

Jacque and I will be attending the the Winemaker's Dinner this Friday night with our friends Steve and Carol Palmbush at Tsillan Cellars (weather contingent), if you are not doing anything would love to see you there (reservations are required).  If you can't make it look for my blog early next week.  Here is the link to the menu: http://www.tsillancellars.com/events-2/winemakers-dinner/