Eat Your Heart Out, Julia Childs

If it wasn't for nursing, I would most definitely be in the culinary field. I have literally gone from Hamburger Helper whore to Queen of Cuisine in just a mere 2 years. I can't even tell you how it began. Watching Top Chef for the hell of it turned into an interest in Food Network and suddenly, I was Emeril freakin' Lagasse and "BAM!ing" all over my kitchen.



Stacks of Bon Appetit magazines sit on my night stand. Printed out recipes shoot out of my printer on a daily basis. Grocery lists and a calendar of the week's menu is updated weekly and taped to my fridge. I've taken my love of food to a whole new level... and you know what? I'm friggin' awesome at it. Dinners at my house have become testaments to my devotion. I de-vein my own shrimp for my cajun pasta, I make my own sauces, salsas, dips, you name it. There is nothing microwavable in my house right now... and that fact blows my mind.

I have to give credit where credit is due, though. My long-time and amazing friend, Brett (whom I could never in a million years be as good a chef as) is a huge contributing factor for my skills. After thinking I was the shizzle for cooking in my crock pot, I learned all too quickly that there was some real man's work to be done if I wanted to really knock people's socks off. After years of Brett dragging me to restaurant depots and every William Sonoma and Sur La Table in the Atlanta area, I suddenly started catching on to what everything was and how fun knowing what I was doing in my own kitchen could actually be. Once I started, it hasn't stopped.



I take so much pride in what I make for dinner now that I feel guilty for buying anything pre-packaged or in a can. If I'm going to make green beans, I'm going to buy them fresh and trim them myself. Soup in a can? Not in my house. Soup is the easiest thing in the world (and the funnest thing to invent recipes with)! Why betray my skills with a quick fix? I don't even buy marinade for my meats anymore because I know how to make it myself. Don't get me wrong, schedules get tight and there will occasionally be a frozen turkey burger dinner with some chips as a side, but more often than not, I have the time!

Sometimes I wonder how I keep all this random food knowledge in my head, but yet constantly forget where I've left my phone charger. I know the required internal temperature for how Chris likes his steaks and how long I need to broil salmon in the oven without drying it out. I always know how much paprika to use without overpowering the dish and how much heavy cream to put in my mashed potatoes without using a measuring cup so they are the perfect consistency. Once I learned how, the knowledge just stuck.

I guess the trick to learning something is to have a passion for it and I couldn't be more thrilled that I have... and a well-fed Chris will happily agree.