If you are serious about learning to cook you need to occasionally put away he books and just have fun. If it sounds silly, so be it: The best way to learn is to just do it. Cooking should be as much art as it is science, and you need some time to practice the art if you are going to get any good at it. You need to have some fun and see what you can do, and if you make some mistakes while doing it, so be it. Learn to cherish these times rather than dread them.
You want to play with how different foods play off one another, and you need to have some fun doing it. Pizzas are perfect for this; you can combine just about everything on a pizza and it works. Take some meats, add in some vegetables, and cover with cheese, and you're off. If you really want to get daring, mess around with some fruits: Granny Smith apples add some tartness while dates make it sweeter. If this sounds like it won't work, consider that the tartness of those green Granny Smith apples works well with smoked ham, and that dates do well with more gamy meats such as lamb or venison.
Baked foods are even better to play with, and I don't mean pastries. A well-greased pan allows you to cook just about anything, as does an aluminum sheet or parchment paper. You can then experiment with vegetables and meats to your heart's content. You would be surprised how may vegetables work well as the center of a meal, such as eggplant, squash, or even mushrooms. Consider how much fun you can have with something as simple as shepherd pie: Combine some meat with some vegetables and cover the whole mess with potatoes and grated cheese. Ground beef is the default, but imagine sausage instead, or pulled pork, or even a mix of tofu and mushrooms instead. Instead of just corn, work with mixed vegetables, Normandy blends, or even a stir fry mix. Have some fun with it, and see what you can come up with.
The bottom line is that you need to have some fun in the kitchen at some point, and that your friends should have at least one day a week that they can dread. There are going to be some things you want to try, and you need to make sure that you try them. You can't always follow recipes as written, and that can actually be detrimental to your development as a chef: You need to develop your own tastes and style, and you can't do that if you are limited to just the recipes you read or see on television. Experiment and see what you can come up with, and have some fun. You may be surprised at what you learn when you just play around with things....
You want to play with how different foods play off one another, and you need to have some fun doing it. Pizzas are perfect for this; you can combine just about everything on a pizza and it works. Take some meats, add in some vegetables, and cover with cheese, and you're off. If you really want to get daring, mess around with some fruits: Granny Smith apples add some tartness while dates make it sweeter. If this sounds like it won't work, consider that the tartness of those green Granny Smith apples works well with smoked ham, and that dates do well with more gamy meats such as lamb or venison.
Baked foods are even better to play with, and I don't mean pastries. A well-greased pan allows you to cook just about anything, as does an aluminum sheet or parchment paper. You can then experiment with vegetables and meats to your heart's content. You would be surprised how may vegetables work well as the center of a meal, such as eggplant, squash, or even mushrooms. Consider how much fun you can have with something as simple as shepherd pie: Combine some meat with some vegetables and cover the whole mess with potatoes and grated cheese. Ground beef is the default, but imagine sausage instead, or pulled pork, or even a mix of tofu and mushrooms instead. Instead of just corn, work with mixed vegetables, Normandy blends, or even a stir fry mix. Have some fun with it, and see what you can come up with.
The bottom line is that you need to have some fun in the kitchen at some point, and that your friends should have at least one day a week that they can dread. There are going to be some things you want to try, and you need to make sure that you try them. You can't always follow recipes as written, and that can actually be detrimental to your development as a chef: You need to develop your own tastes and style, and you can't do that if you are limited to just the recipes you read or see on television. Experiment and see what you can come up with, and have some fun. You may be surprised at what you learn when you just play around with things....
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