When I think about cooking for others, whether I'm taking food to them or inviting them to dine here, I get major stage fright. Now why would that be? I love cooking, and I love people. I love feeding my family, and making food for my parents or my in-laws has never been quite so intimidating. Of course I always want the meals I make to taste good, but I take it to a whole new level when I'm cooking for others: I don't even know what to make.
My anxiety over this has made me think about my kitchen, my staples. Everyone has staple pantry items, whether they are conscious of it or not. Part of my dilemma came when I realized I cannot use two of my staples in this particular instance. And that I cannot go to the store. I didn't really realize before how much I depend on citrus (especially lemons), tomatoes, and general spiciness in my cooking. Many of our dinners include all three, but most contain at least one of those key elements. Add a concern for type of cuisine and you've got one frozen chef. Looks like it's time to broaden my horizons a bit.
Of course some of the best meals to take to people are the ones I would overlook. I feel pretty confident about most of my soups. Crockpot barbecue chicken or pork is a standby classic. I sometimes forget that making dinner for someone else doesn't mean you have to put in a lot of work--using my crockpot is certainly not cheating. Is it simply pride on my part, wanting others to wish I would cook for them every night? I'm afraid this cooking blog may attest all well to that possibility.
My anxiety also brings to my attention my commitment issues. I have been making efforts to learn to make all kinds of food with all kinds of techniques. Maybe now it's time to specialize a little more, focus on a specific type of food until I can cook it really well. Like Pancakes. =)
I know what I'm going to make for our neighbors tonight--chicken tagine. I really hope they like it, but if not, that's okay too. So no more worrying about me. This has made me wonder, though, when you make dinner for other people, what do you make? What is your favorite take-away and your favorite dinner party fare?
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2 comments:
I know exactly what you mean! It's as though I'm stealthily trying to get the word out that I am an amazing cook, one step away from having her own cooking show, type thing. I made something for a lady in the ward last week and the whole weeks menu seemed to spin around having everything I needed for that one recipe. Craziness. If I was smart, I would try and develop a reputation as a bad cook, and thereby ensuring that I had enough time to cook fabulous food for my own family.
I always feel this way because I think people are picky... On Food Network they always make these awesome gourmet things and have dinner guests and I think "Everyone I know would probably think that was weird". I even get nervous for the missionaries to come over. I have made for the missionaries: Sloppy Joes, enchiladas, pasta salad, Chile, um I don't know what else. Mexican food is almost universally accepted. I made a chicken pot pie casserole once for a family with a new baby, with biscuit topping instead of pie crust. I eat a lot of gluten. :)
On another note (b/c this comment needs to be longer), we tried Arrowhead Mills Gluten Free brownie mix this week. I like it. It's a brownie and it has chocolate chips in it, so kinda hard to go wrong. A girl I VT is Celiac.
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