Everyone can cook

Tonight my chef was gathering up all of the ingredients he had prepared for a dinner that he was doing for a family that bought his services at a charity event. Watching him check and recheck made me think about a very important dinner I prepared for a little over a year ago. I had gotten all of the ingredients together and I was so proud of myself. I was going to be making a meal for what would be my boyfriend and his sister. I was so proud of myself and getting my kitchen all ready. I was making chicken packets.

To make chicken packets you cook 3 or 4 chicken breasts. Then you chop them up and mix them with 8 oz. cream cheese, salt, and pepper. You then take a package of crescent rolls and separate them. Fill each one with some of the chicken mixture. Melt a stick of butter and dip each crescent roll in butter and bread crumbs. You then bake them at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 minutes or until the crescent rolls are baked.

By the time my guests were at my house my chicken packets were in the oven. I was getting ready to make the rice with the meal and of course my soon to be boyfriend was in the kitchen talking to me as I grabbed the bag of rice off of the back of the oven. I thought it was resting safely, because I hadn't used the top of the stove for any part of the meal. I grabbed the rice bag so confident and quickly. Rice flew everywhere. It turned out that the back of my stove was hot because the oven was on and the plastic bag of rice had melted and opened up right as I went to grab it.

To say the least my boyfriend still laughs about that meal. He didn't like the chicken packets, and he learned very quickly that I make a mess in the kitchen. He was definitely impressing me that day, because he actually grabbed my broom and helped me clean up the rice. I can't honestly say I had ever been so nervous about making a meal before that day. Before that I would make meals with my mom as a child in the family; the pressure was not on me. That day the pressure was on me and the rice flew all over the kitchen.

I was watching Ratatouille before work today and it made me realize once again how cooking really needs to be something fun. I learned at that first meal that I should never take myself too seriously when I'm cooking.

I cook because it relieves my stress. After a bad day, the only thing I want to do is grab some butter, flour, chocolate chips, sugar, and baking soda and make some chocolate chip cookies. Some people actually look at cooking as a chore like doing laundry or cleaning the bathroom. This is such a sad thing to me. I know I will not change everyone's mind, but I hope if you have had your rice moment you laughed about it and didn't make that one moment turn you against cooking forever.

Happy Eating!!!

Emily