so here it is. glen got me a cookbook for my birthday. of course it arrived 3 days after i had sworn off cookbooks and gotten rid of ALL of ours. what a blow to his attempt to surprise me for my birthday. however, i swore off them because i never opened them ever. this one however will be different. we have been watching a show on PBS called A Chef's Life. i highly recommend it! the goal for this year is to try to cook at least two recipes a week or more if time/budget allows.
i dont always follow instructions but plan to do the recipes step by step and with all of the appropriate ingredients. i almost chose to cut corners on the first recipe which really means i wasnt following the reall recipe on the first try. instead i chose to go to our bi-lo (which i dont like) and stand in the meat section looking like a total novice among what seemed like a hoard of experienced southern cooks in choosing the right seasoning meat, but i did it. feeling like an idiot, i found the smoked ham hock i needed. already i am stepping out of my comfort zone. as glen told me after i got home i should have asked those women who looked like they knew what they were doing for a little advice in choosing the right seasoning meat.
