Cooking to impress

With us being waist deep in the silly season it is easy to feel the stresses of entertaining.  For me, as much as I love the challenge of a lush multi-course meal, when I am cooking for the same people again and again I feel the pressure to keep upping the ante.  I have a reputation to uphold.  It is inevitable that there are people in our lives that we have concerns about cooking for, wether it be someone we revere, fear disappointing, or just someone who we perceive as having very high standards.

I have had a lot of people in the kitchen with me over the years.  Many of them told me they did not know how to cook.  To that I say "Bah!".  We each have our comfort zone and our style in the kitchen that take years to hone to where we want.  Anyone can cook.  Most just lack confidence. We  have all known the person who could burn water.  I had that friend and she made the best fried chicken.  I could never duplicate it no matter how many times she showed me.

When I cook multi-course medieval feast I start with an idea, search and modify the recipes, do multiple test runs on most items, with my hungry and honest team of guinea pigs.  By the time a feast, or any event that I handle this way, comes around, I do not want to see or eat the food because I have made it so many times to guarantee perfection.  A few months down the road I am usually recovered, but that is the pressure I put on myself due to my reputation.  My guinea pigs are my safe zone.  In my world they know that sometimes what I cook is not perfect.  The only people that have seen my complete failures in my kitchen is my son and husband.  There has been a time or two when I called for pizza because dinner was not edible.

My point is that you should focus on what you do and do it well.  If you try to go too far out of your comfort zone when you are trying to impress, you are most likely setting yourself up for failure.  Do not do that to yourself.  Save the experiments for your close family and friends that will give you constructive criticism not the person you feel you must impress.  If you practice the way you want to cook in a safe zone you will find that you start to cook the way you want.  For more helpful hint on getting where you want I would recommend reading my post Recipe V Creative Recipes.

I hope this helps make holiday entertaining a less stressful for you.

Anthoinette