cooking odyssey | Pink Stripes

It was one year ago today that I opened up a cookbook (How to Cook Everything by Mark Bitman–received as a gift from my mother over 9 years ago) and started my Cooking Odyssey. Prior to this, “cooking” to me was heating up a Trader Joe’s meal or maybe hard-boiling an egg.

Of course, I’ve followed a few recipes and made a few things prior to my Cooking Odyssey. But really I was known as non-cook and my well-supplied kitchen was more of a museum. I had visions of becoming a gourmet cook when we registered for wedding gifts. I’ve used them all now! It just took 7 years 😛

I can’t pinpoint what made me decide that I can and should cook. Something clicked inside me and not only did I decide to cook, I also decided to document every recipe I made in a journal. In a year, I made 433 unique recipes. I finished #433 —Maple-Walnut Scones from Baked in the nick of time at 11:30 pm on 3/7/09.

I didn’t start Pink Stripes until August 2008. Because I didn’t cook, I didn’t realize the world of food blogging was so big and widespread and truly global.

The very first recipe I made was Roasted Buttered Nuts from How to Cook Everything. Very simple, very straight forward and the perfect food to start off my journey: Nuts + melted butter+ salt & pepper, stirred together and thrown in the oven to roast.

Soon, I discovered food magazines and shortly there after epicurious.com which led me to food blogs and Google Reader. I started to bring in treats to work for my co-workers. Now everything has changed. It’s expected that I bring in goodies and when I don’t they start to squirm. 😛

I did take pictures of things I made prior to starting a blog, but for some reason in a fit of cleaning I’ve deleted them all. Which kind of sucks, but really I would only use them for this post so I guess it’s okay. 🙂

Here is a chronological list of some of my favorite and adventurous (for me) things I’ve made since I started cooking and baking:

Scrambled Eggs–okay everyone knows how to cook scrambled eggs, but I really learned how to make them great. The secret is slow-cooking them. Turn the burner to low and you get the creamiest most delectable eggs. Its the only way I cook them now.
Pasta with Browned Butter and Sage–again, very simple. It’s something I can turn to in a jiffy. I always have butter, Parm cheese, and pasta at home. If I have sage, even better.
Strawberries with Balsamic Vinegar & Cracked Black Pepper–OMG, so good and easy.
Pizza Dough–so easy and simple and so much better than frozen pizzas. It’s the only pizza at home I eat now.
Scones–I love making scones. You don’t have to wait for ingredients to come to room temperature and they are so quick to throw together.
Veggie Burgers–I’ve made all types: potato and pea, black bean, sweet potato, bulgur, etc. Again, better than frozen store bought
Mayonnaise–The first time I made my own mayo it took me four attempts. I tried the food processor, the blender, the immersion blender, and finally had success making it by hand. Now, when I make it, I only do it by hand because I know it works for me.
Chocolate Eclairs–These are my husband’s favorite pastry. When the San Francisco Chronicle food section published a recipe for them on his birthday, I knew I had to make them that night for him. He loved them and said they were the best birthday gift ever.
Graham Crackers–Who doesn’t love graham crackers?
Cheese Soufflé
Macaroni and Cheese
Garam Masala, Curry, Chili Powder–making spice mixtures at home makes the kitchen smell so good.
Sour Cherry Pie—I can’t believe I made this. The crust was so flaky and delicious.
Pesto–I didn’t realize how easy it is to make.
French Bread–I still haven’t achieved the perfect hard crust, but I’m still trying.
Pita
French Toast made with Challah
Ice Cream, Sorbet, Gelato–I made ice cream before starting my Cooking Odyssey. We received the maker as a gift when we got married. We made ice cream a few times soon after and then didn’t use it for years and years. Now I make ice cream at least once a week, sometimes twice. I love homemade ice cream a lot. I’ve written about 15 different posts about ice cream. You can see them all HERE. My most surprising favorite flavor is Sweet Basil Ice Cream, so good.
Granola–I always have homemade granola in my pantry now. It’s my go-to quick breakfast.
Vegetable Pot Pie
Caramels
Flour Tortillas
Foccacia
English Muffins
Ciabatta
Challah–I now make challah just for French Toast. How ridiculous is that?
Crème Brûlée–I bought a torch, I burnt the sugar!
Layer Cakes–I still need to work on my decorating skills. These are not pretty, but I’m getting better every time.
Biscotti
Old-Fashioned White Bread
Cheesecake
French Yule Log
Pretzels
French Pear Tart
Fougasse
Nine-Grain Whole Wheat Harvest Bread
CROISSANTS—My biggest achievement to date. These were a lot of work, but worth every minute of it.
Whole-Grain Cooking–in general, I love all the new to me grains I’ve been cooking.
Vegan Baking–so far I’ve made chocolate chip cookies, lemon bars, jelly doughnut muffins, carrot-pineapple sunshine muffins, almond-quinoa muffins, and chocolate raspberry cookies. It’s fun, I love it.
Apricot, Almond, and Chocolate Coffee Cake
Brioche Raisin Snails