The Year That Was - The Final Post.

At the end of 2010, I realised that it was time for me to learn how to cook. I didn’t have very high expectations, but I thought it would be fun to at least give it a go. Before I started, if it was my turn to cook at home (was VERY rarely my turn) I would do one of the following:

- Cook Mexican – essentially out of the packet and if it involved chicken I’d make Sian do that part.

- Cook quiche – I could always nail a quiche, but would need to call dad EVERY time to get him to remind me how to do it.

- Bitch and whinge and complain until it was easier for Sian to just cook for me

So a refresher:

The Task: 

Learn to cook better

Gain cooking confidence

Get my family and friends’ favourite recipes

To take myself from a couch potato to a potato baker

The Rules:

Cook one new recipe a week – any other cooking is a bonus

‘Showcase’ new skills to a guest once a month – and gain a review

Keep a record of cooking experiences and new recipes

Now that the year is over, it has to be said – I was overwhelmingly successful! I cooked 60 recipes in the year; I got 13 reviews (it’s not my fault that they weren’t all written) and collected heaps of recipes in my book.

By the end I was cooking for fun (nerd) and loved trying new recipes. I got so much more confident that I would sometimes opt to cook for people rather than go out! I learnt heaps about food (doesn’t matter if to most people its assumed knowledge) and about cooking. Plus, I finally have a hobby so people know what presents to buy me! It was amazing.

If I keep going at this pace, I reckon by the end of 2012 I’ll actually be able to find what I need in Coles without calling Sian or Dad when I can't remember if green onions, spring onions and scallions are all the same thing or to say "the recipe just says "cream", which one should I get?".

The best dish to eat: I really loved Beer Butt Chicken by Ed and Gianna’s Lasagna. Neither of them were too hard, but they looked complicated and made me feel like I’d achieved something. They were also effing amazing to eat!

The best dish to cook: I can’t go past getting to fillet a duck in Singapore for my Duck San Choy Bow – brilliant.

The biggest challenge: Not eating all of everything I cooked. Mum, Dad, Bald and my colleagues all were faced with masses of sweet food as I thought it was easiest to give it away rather than eat it all. Good plan for me – clogged arteries for them.

The biggest failure: Since the challenge officially ended, I’ve cooked two failures. 1. Jess’s Macedonian Triangle Cake which was totally the wrong shape and I had no idea how to assemble. 2. Donna’s Spinach Pie, which was gross – not sure why, I didn’t make any mistakes, but it just tasted really yuck. During the challenge, I didn’t have anything inedible but the presentation of many of my dishes lead a lot to be desired.

The funniest event: When I cooked pizza bases and weevils flew out at me, so I fly sprayed the shit out of the lounge room, and then slipped in the fly spray, started laughing and choked on the fumes.

The worst burn/cut: I probably burnt or cut myself every time I cooked, but some bad ones were; when I dropped the knife and tried to catch it on my foot and cut my toe (beer butt chicken), when I sliced my thumb while cutting bacon (Leeky, Streeky, Cheeky, Freaky), and when I put my finger in boiling oil (Finger Food Feast).

The dish I’ve cooked most often: There are a few that I’ve done again, but these have all been done more than twice - Sarah’s Mum’s Potato Salad; Sian’s Perfect Spaggy Bol; Keely’s Show WinningCaramel Slice and Sarah’s Moroccan Cous Cous.

Ways I’ve improved: I don’t have to call someone every time I go to Coles as I now can usually identify the ingredient in the recipe (also now have a phone that has google on it).

The best thing I’ve achieved: The confidence and inclination to cook for my friends and family. I really enjoy it and have fun spending time thinking of things they’ll like and getting to cook for them. Luckily they’re all too polite (so far) to tell me they hate what I’ve made – or maybe I really am just that good.