Showing posts with label neophyte chef. Show all posts
Showing posts with label neophyte chef. Show all posts

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Chicken and Rice with Olive Oil, White Wine and Pepper

As a neophyte chef, you tend to stick to cookbook recipes and shy away from experimentation (read: disaster averse). Which is why I’m proud to report that I recently crossed the threshhold of cooking sans any written guidance -- and was surprisingly pleased with the result.

I chopped half a chicken breast into small pieces and threw it into a saucepan with some white rice. Drizzled into the mix -- 2 tablespoons of olive oil, a hint of cooking white wine, diced onions and chopped green pepper. A sprinkling of ground pepper went a long way toward giving the chicken a little zest. Who knew mixing pepper varieties in one dish could be so much fun?

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

A Neophyte Chef Is Born

When you live in New York, it’s easy to put cooking on your to-do list but never actually do it. After all, Gotham is a mecca of gastronomic convenience, with enticing restaurants and delivery and takeout options on every block.

This year, though, at the tender age of 37, I've decided it’s time for me to use my kitchen for more than microwaving. Actress Billie Burke (best known as Glinda in “The Wizard of Oz”) once said age is something that doesn’t matter unless you are a cheese. Bearing that optimism in mind, I’m on a mission to develop my culinary skills as a neophyte chef. Hope you’ll join me in the adventure.