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Went out to dinner last night. My husband has really been enjoying my cooking lately, and the other night, he said he would take me out to eat; so I got a break, and so he could make his point that my food was better than what we could get eating out. So we went to a very high end restaurant nearby. I had pumpkin soup, lamb, and root vegetables with roasted brussel sprouts. The lamb was a combination of roasted and braised. The braised lamb was shredded and a layer of it was in the bottom of a tiny little cast iron pan, topped with a layer of the root vegetables, then the roasted brussel sprouts, and topped with duchess potatoes. Didn't care for the potato, but I could have eaten about five of those. It was great. The roasted lamb was good too, but the flavors and richness of the braised lamb with the veggies was amazing. My DH ordered their fresh made mustard pasta with oyster mushrooms, beef and arugula, and had some kind of fish fritters (tuna?) with blood oranges and pickled snapes for his appetizer. He was disappointed in his meal and claimed this proved how much better my cooking was. I think it was just making a so-so choice from the menu! I guess he missed having pasta at home. ;-)
Meanwhile, my daughter went out to dinner with her new fiancee, Sam. She had gotten a gift certificate at Christmas from her boss to a very nice restaurant. Sam ordered smoked pulled pork with pineapple salsa. She was excited about it because of a dish I made for our extended family holiday get together. It was nomnompaleo.com's Kahlua pulled pork, with her mango and avocado salsa. She took one bite of the dish from the restaurant and said, "Your Mom's cooking is better."
I am a decent cook, but I think I have learned a few things. Use good ingredients to make good food. And I have found a few good sources for recipes. Nom Nom Paleo is my go to site when I am puzzling over what to make for dinner. Her recipes are clear. If she calls for an unusual ingredient, she will explain why she is calling for it, and an appropriate substitute if possible. The more I cook, the more I start making up my own recipes. Starting to get a repetoire of techniques, and a good sense of what flavors combine well.
I am still on a learning curve with my pressure cooker, but my go to site for info is hippressurecooking.com . Her instructions are clear, and her recipes are decent.
I have become a fussier eater. I don't think of it as being a food snob...more of a health snob. When I look at a package of junk food, I immediately connect it with things that will destroy my health. Inflammatory oils, or gluten, or sugar in it's many forms, or the trifecta of all of the above! Whole foods, (not the store mind you), are where it is at. The fewer the ingredients, the more local the origins, the better it is likely to be for your general well being, and the better it will probably taste as well! I am not a purist about this. For instance, mangoes are not grown here in New England, but I am buying them for my daughter right now, and eat a bit of them myself because they are in season. How do I know? Because they are piled high in the store, and the price is good! Squash is great this time of year. It keeps well. Same for brussel sprouts, cabbage and sweet potatoes. By adjusting what we eat to what is in season, it is less likely that I will get bored with what we are eating.
So, I am a health snob, how about you? What are you a snob about?
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