MIXED EMOTIONS

I am not quite sure where to begin. The thoughts and emotions I experience when cooking are pretty vast. It begins with utter disgust as I work with cleaning and deboning the meat, to relief, when it is finally in the oven, to sheer joy, when I discover that I actually succeeded at making the meal. It is quite a range. And quite exhausting. However, it is completely worth it in the end...mainly because I am famished. Here is a glimpse of the depth of emotion I exhibit while cooking...

Last night I would classify as a success. I made a ballotine of turkey and stuffing. And this time my stuffing actually looked like stuffing. But oh man, I do not know what makes turkey so much worse than chicken. But the words "sick" and "nasty" were flying out of my mouth every two seconds. It was nasty! I feel I may have taken a step back in working with raw meat. All I know is that I breathed a deep, deep sigh of relief when that part was over. Although using the mallet to flatten the meat was definitely cathartic. That part I enjoyed.

I also sauteed my first vegetables last night. I love that everything I do is a first. Probably part of the reason why I enjoy cooking so much...it is all new and exciting. But thankfully there are enough different kinds of dishes and recipes that I should never run out of new things to try. Here's a picture of the veggies...

And here is my ballotine. Notice the perfectly rolled first piece. I was especially proud of that one..it looked JUST like the picture!

Also..National Pancake Day is Sept. 26th. Martha informed me of this yesterday...so mark your calendars! I have it on mine!