Is the crockpot going to burn my countertop?

There are some people in this large world that we live in who love to cook and know how to cook and can mix this spice or that and create something so fantastic that everyone they know begs for their recipes. On the other end of the world there are people who cook because pasta every night gets old. My boyfriends fits in the second category; and his endeavors, since trying to eat pasta for 3 months and finding out that is just doesn't taste as good the 90th time around, have been actually quite honorable.

Yesterday as you can see in the picture he made ribs and mashed potatoes in the his brand new crockpot. Much to my surprise all my boyfriend wanted this year for his birthday was a crockpot. I was never informed of this, but thankfully his mom either was informed or just knew that he desperately wanted a crockpot. He has been anxiously waiting for the right moment to try it out. Yesterday's record heat and his lack of air conditioning gave him the perfect reason to not use his stove.

I guess the crockpot came with recipes, and he decided on ribs. After that decision was made I kept getting phone calls asking about bbq sauce and how much ribs and what color they will turn. Recipes only tell you so much and it can be kind of tricky to cut down a recipe. We always add a little water to the bbq sauce to thin it out and to stretch it out(the recipe of course didn't have that piece of information in it). Many people tell my boyfriend that he's lucky to be dating a cook, but my pastry degree was not really helpful; if I were to run a hotline it would be about creme brulees that have bubbles on top or pastry cream this is lumpy not about how to cook ribs. Thankfully I've helped my mom do ribs many times so I know how to answer most of his questions.

Towards the end of the whole process(I actually assumed he'd be eating soon since I knew the ribs were in), I get an im asking me if crockpots can burn counter tops. I have an incurable case of sarcasm so I responded "Yes if you light a match to it." I then get "ok brb I'm going to put it on the stove." My poor boyfriend did not get my sarcasm at all and was so busy worrying about his counter tops burning; he truly was in a tizzy. I had to laugh. Cooking can be quite relaxing, but when you spend some extra money on ribs and are hoping for a good meal the stress level just seems to rise.

Movies, cookbooks, and TV shows inundate us with the idea that anyone can cook. I do wholeheartedly agree with this concept, but I also know what it is like to do something new for the first time. My boyfriend was so proud when his ribs and mashed potatoes came out that he snapped this lovely picture for us, to display his new cooking abilities. I have also been on the other end of trying something new where the whole thing is a flop. Those moments are hardly picture worthy and tend to make me want to quit cooking altogether.

Cooking is a journey full of high points and low points. The key is to be learning every step of the way. If everything always works out the first time you try it, I hate you. Ok maybe hate is a harsh word, but coming from the perspective of an imperfect cook that has made many mistakes I can say I've not learned nearly as much from my successes as I have from my failures. So here's to the successful ribs that I am hoping we can recreate when I'm in Providence and to the daily flops that teach us we aren't perfect and still have a lot to learn.

Happy Eating!!!

Emily