Friend of a Foodie!

I always thought being friends with a chef would be so exciting...boy did I have a lot to learn! Oh there's lots of excitement in the chef's kitchen, but it's not all ooh la las and lip smacking over haute de yum yum.

It starts out with shopping, then there's the schlepping....loading and unloading, etc. By the time we got back to her shop from Chicago it was pretty late. Diane had a big party to cater the next day, so needless to say, there wasn't any time to spare and she dove right in...and it was 11pm. So, I offered to help since it didn't seem right to stand around and watch. Really, how hard could it be... I'm a decent cook and my friends like my dishes, right? But, seeing as how I'm a commercial kitchen neophyte, it probably wasn't my wisest choice.

Diane says, "fine, here's some asparagus. I need them all trimmed the same length so they look great on the plate." I swear she gave me a whole bale of asparagus to cut. I have never seen that many rubber banded asparagi in one bundle in my life.

Okay, given my analytical approach to things, I figured I'd use a sharp knife and trim 'em right up. HAH! You try getting 127 spears of asparagus cut in one whack while they're all trying to escape the rubber band! Frankly, I was lucky they didn't all end up on the floor...maybe even luckier that I still have all my fingers. Hmmm, maybe I needed a sharper knife? "Hey, Diane, do you have a knife sharpener?"

Next, she put me in charge of the couscous. Now in my little world, the box shakes out a manageable little 2 cupper.....I had to pull out a calculator to adapt the amounts for this giant saucepan. Okay, I can do this...no problem. Well, so far it's looking good and I'm feeling a little more accomplished; now for a taste. Hmm, I think it needs a little something; salt, mint? "Hey Diane, will you taste this?" I turn to put the spoon in the pot to grab a little taste for her and she screams, "NO!!!! CODE!!!" Oh, my god! I threw my hands up in the air and dropped the spoon on the floor...what the heck did I know? "Geesh, you scared me!" What the hell?? My friends never complained about my germs.

Anyway, that was the beginning of my baptism by fire in the Dinner's Ready kitchen.
I'm getting quite a few lessons hanging around with Diane. And, though I don't think I'll ever be as creative or as good a cook as she is, I'm not hanging up my apron just yet.