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| No pictures of the chili, so here's one of a young Theo. |
Theo likes to cook. Partly because he likes to eat good food but partly because he enjoys the science and creativity of cooking. So for Christmas, we got him a gift certificate for a session at a cooking school - the real thing with big-time chefs, good equipment, and helpers. He recently went to a class for one-pot meals. I'm not sure if that's what he wanted to learn about the most from the wide variety of classes, but that's the one that fit into his work schedule. He said he learned a few things and had other things that reinforced what he knew, like the importance of layering flavors. They made three dishes: Morrocan chicken, mushroom risotto, and southwest chili.
He came home and said he'd like to try making the chili for us. That required a trip to the grocery store and five hours of his time. He roasted peppers, he chopped peppers, he ground peppers. Five kinds of peppers in all. He roasted a whole head of garlic in olive oil. He chopped, he browned, he braised. And the end result was delicious. There are almost as many ways to make chili as there are cooks, and I've tasted many of them. This batch may have ranked at the top. But was it worth the effort? We all agreed that it wasn't. None of us have enough time in our schedules to cook this way, even with the excellent results it provided. Theo said that he would be looking at ways to streamline the process and still maintain the rich blend of flavors.
I hope he didn't get too discouraged by his efforts because I'm looking forward to some Moroccan chicken. Not sure exactly what that is, but I hope I get to find out soon. :)
I will agree about layering flavors making a dish so much better. I have a lot of shortcuts I use to help, like roasting and freezing multi peppers, garlic bulbs, caramelized onions, etc.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy the intense flavors but I don't like to spend more than 30 minutes on any meal. The short cuts always help
I'm not very good about layering flavors having grown up with meat and potatoes seasoned with salt and occasionally pepper. However, Theo thinks about it when he cooks. Bulk prep ahead of time for various ingredients makes things a lot easier at dinner time. Thirty minutes is about my limit, too.
DeleteGood idea, Anne. I'll have to try that. I enjoy cooking but not to the extent where I want it to take over my entire schedule.
DeleteJune, that was a great idea for a gift! How fun!
Theo said that he will probably go back sometime when time and budget permit. But come to think of it, he has a birthday coming up in a few months. Maybe we get him another gift certificate to there. I'll have to tell Ward this idea before I forget. :)
DeleteThe chili he made does sound delicious, even though it was a lot of prep work and time. Maybe do as Anne suggests and make some of the items ahead of time and freeze. Let us know how the Moroccan chicken turns out; I've never had it, myself, but, I've seen it being made on some of the cooking programs I watch on TV.
ReplyDeleteI think mushroom risotto is next up on the list for his cooking class dishes when I asked Theo about it. We shall see. In the meantime, we had a simple turkey and veggie casserole last night.
DeleteIs it nice to have a chef in the family? If not, send him this way.
ReplyDeleteCooking is a necessary chore for me, so it's really nice to have someone around who enjoys doing it. He doesn't always have much time, but we are ever so thankful when Theo does have time to cook.
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