My husband, the Iron Chef

I have never been a very good cook.  I have made attempts at it now and then, but not with much success.  My son Alexander loves to tell the story about when Mommy tried to cook dinner and made a big ball of cheese (not on purpose).  My husband, Christopher, however is a great cook.  I think he is a better cook than chefs in most restaurants where I have eaten. Back when we first started dating about 8 years ago, he offered to cook me dinner.  There was nothing in my townhouse (that I could cook) and I suggested that we go out.  He looked in the freezer and the pantry, and within about 30 minutes whipped up a pasta primavera type dish out of frozen peas, pasta, and shredded cheese.  It was delicious!  I think if he'd asked me to marry him right there, I would have said yes.  We did actually get married about 6 months after that.  He had been thinking about quiting his job and going to cooking school in NYC when we met.  He never got around to going to cooking school, but he has watched enough Food Network to fool most people.



The secret is the brine

Since we were in London over Thanksgiving (see previous post, "London Calling"), Christopher didn't get to make his traditional turkey dinner. He loves to cook for lots of people, coming from a family where he had a twin brother, plus 6 other adopted brothers and sisters.  One year I think we had 25 people over, and Christopher cooked just about all the dishes. This past Sunday, Christopher cooked a turkey, and made dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes and rolls.  It was great.  It also reminded me that I really need to start running again or else my clothes are not going to fit. 

Since I am now the Accidental Stay at Home Mom, I feel compelled to try to cook dinner. There are a few things that I can cook: roasted chicken, pasta with meatballs, tacos.  My husband likes it when I attempt to cook, but even my girls know that "Daddy's cooking is better!"  When I am in super coupon mode my grocery shopping becomes somewhat erratic. I come home with all kinds of new and different items (they were free! under a dollar!  on clearance!).  My husband grumbles that there is no way we need 5 bottles of hot sauce, and that I am not buying ingredients that he actually needs for cooking dinner.  I just smile and tell him to pretend that he is on Iron Chef.  Secret ingredient: Hot Sauce!