Commonly Dishes of Life

The McIntosh: Cheddar Cheese, Commonly Dishes of Life

Every afternoon, Adam and I duck into our local Super Wal-Mart for some fresh, pre-packaged ingredients. Among the colorful displays of ingredients are states-of-the-art appliances designed to make ice cream and cakes far more delectable. As I make a vanilla ice cream and some fudge, I remember my fond childhood memories of yummy snow cone and cotton candy. The snap of the paper cone and the taste of the melted sugar and other discarded food as I float in the smooth sea of my bowl reminds me of my first steps in the culinary arts.

My family seldom celebrated holidays. Neither Adam nor I visited grandparent’s houses when I was younger. So there was never a party when I was not sure to make the most of every day. On those occasions, either my mother or grandmother would make the cake and some of us would help in preparing the cookie and other cookie treats. I remember happily snacking on my sugar cookies and quickly adding them to the dish as I helped my mother pour the batter into the pan.As I grew older, it seemed myInteresting the world as a kid and how my choices of food just had to be more interesting. I wanted to be able to help my mom in her kitchen as she was already very skilled at what she did….not to mention very sexy! But just what made her sexy? I had approaches to several chefs she sent me unsolicited and I politely declined her invitation to come to dinner, feeling anything would be better!

A few years later I was working as an chef in a gourmet take out restaurant on Bloor street in Toronto Canada when a well-known chef, wanting to promote his restaurant, invited me to dinner in the restaurant. I happily accepted and we had a nice evening together. The chef was very generous with his time, treating me to his ‘ology’ and being very considerate to my fellow cooks.

But I was working hard and had lost my enthusiasm for his cooking. I longed to taste gourmet food every now and then, but my enthusiasm was dampened by the monotony of the chef’s kitchen. I longed for the exciting life of culinary adventure.

The prospect of going into a career in culinary, however, appealed to me. I wanted to be able to create art in a formal setting and combine my love of food with my keen sense of smell and taste. Commonly Dishes of Life

ney kitchen is an age old question. When you are a kid, you are likely to ask whatever is for dinner and the person you ask most about your future job is likely to be a chef. You may get lucky and land the job of chef for a year or two, but there is no guarantee. If you do not get lucky and land the perfect job, there is no point in dreaming of becoming a chef. What’s that say? You may be good at something, but are you good at cooking?

The ingredients are readily available and the time to collect them is now. The Tablehopper, the De Mayo, every chef’s toolbox and pro chef’s secret recipes are a few of the things you will need to make it work. You can buy the tools, Secrets and Supplies at the retail store. In this after sales service, familiar faces are being added to help you pass the time, but you will need those tools to make it happen. Commonly Dishes of Life

Who else will you be serving food to? How many guests are coming? Are there specific dietary concerns you need to have? Can you go to a dinner party using existing cuisine? What about the budget you have?

Prepared meals are not cheap. Very often you are paying more than once for the same meal. As you shift to this new way of eating, you may find that the cost does not go down. In larger kitchens there is not always a huge range of incomes to cater to. You may have to work with what you have, and what is in stock. On one occasion, I happened to be at a party where they were serving prawns. It looked so delicious I wanted to eat them right then and there. The dish was not on the menu they had prepared. It was something they had made earlier that day.

Shopping for the prawns was fun. It was my first time buying shrimp and although they were advertised as fresh, they were obviously pre-cooked because they had losing their freshness. The prawns were probably day-old unless they had been kept refrigerated. The exact opposite of fresh. But I was determined to get my money’s worth. And I did. I ate the shrimp and found it very tasty. I was so impressed with the clarity and color of the shrimp. It was a wonderful dish, and the presentation was important to me. I like the look of a professionally prepared dish. Commonly Dishes of Life