Dinner is Served
Being a foodie is all fun and games until you look at your bank account.
I have always considered myself as someone who enjoys the finer things in life, and I make no exceptions when it comes to food. Growing up, my mom was a stay-at-home mother, and my grandma lived with us full time: I can count on one hand the number of times we ate out. While growing up in a home with two women who were excellent at cooking had its perks, I am now, in my adult life, starting to realize the only downside. I was so busy enjoying eating their food for 18 years that I never bothered to learn how to make anything myself.
Early on during my freshman year of college I discovered that ramen and easy-mac were about the only two dishes I could “make from scratch.” I had two left feet in the kitchen so to speak… I was completely lost.
And so, I let the intimidation of being in the kitchen take over. Three years later and I am still scared to put myself in a kitchen. It is entirely due to fear of failure. So how did I manage to feed myself over the past three years? I eat out… a lot. I was introduced to Uber eats and similar apps which has made not being able to cook has become less of a handicap for me, until I look at the financial aspect. I have become comfortable, too comfortable in fact, with my culinary awkwardness. One day, I reached my breaking point after ordering food from the same restaurant three days in a row and decided it would be best if I started my cooking endeavor somewhere comfortable where I would not be intimidated.
I drove over to Publix, where shopping is a pleasure, after spending an entire class period googling “recipes for beginners.” I decided on a lemon butter cod recipe, I didn’t want to start too easy. I made my way over to the fully stocked fish section of Publix. I felt uncomfortable and completely out of my comfort zone. Sure, I knew what every fish and crustacean in the glass casing tasted like at its best, but I didn’t know the first thing about getting to that point.
Almost as if he’d sensed my discomfort, the man behind the counter offered to help me decide on a fish. I let him know about my plan to take on a cod dish that night, and he proved to be a valuable resource. I learned that lemon and cayenne pepper would help overcome the fishy taste and add a nice flavor, and that overcooking would be my demise. I traipsed through a couple of aisles picking up recommended spices and eventually made my way to the cash register, where I could not believe my eyes. All of the ingredients for my dinner came to just above $20.
I had enough food to feed myself for two or maybe even three nights for less than I spend on one meal. This triumph fueled me to immediately try my hand at the dish — I pushed past the nerves and got to cooking. All in all, the meal took thirty minutes to make. To my surprise, I did not overcook the fish. It wasn’t quite 5-star restaurant quality however I was still pretty proud of myself. I had stepped out of my comfort zone and into the kitchen and was able to make something that tasted good. This small victory fired me up for my culinary future. I pictured myself cooking for my loved ones and hoped their reaction to my food would be the same as mine. My main takeaway from this first cooking experience was the desire to get good enough at cooking to feel comfortable sharing something I made with my loved ones.
It just so happened that my cooking breakthrough happened a week before Thanksgiving, which gave me the idea to contribute to our dinner by making a dish of my own. My family celebrates Thanksgiving, but we’re usually not the type of family to go all-out. I say usually because this year we did things a bit differently. I was surprised to hear that our neighbors, a family of four, would be joining us for the holiday. When I heard the news, a pit formed in my stomach. This would be the perfect opportunity to really emerge from my comfort zone and cook something that had a greater chance for criticism, but was I ready to put myself out there like that?
Fortunately, I had already committed to contributing to our feast before I heard about our additional guests, so there was no backing out. I had to see this through, and I had to make sure it turned out well. I decided to visit the farmer’s market that I grew up going to — I have countless memories of my sister and I eating freshly made strawberry ice cream while my grandma paced the aisles looking for the freshest produce for whatever amazing dish she was planning. It was just like I remember it, with rows of vibrant fruits and vegetables and the sweet smell of Plant City strawberries filling the air. I walked up and down and back up and back down the aisles. I knew I wanted to make something that everyone would enjoy eating, but I had no idea what that could be.
Then it hit me. Everyone’s favorite part of dinner, or at least my favorite part, is what comes after — dessert! I spotted a neat basket of sweet potatoes and was instantly reminded of the decadent and sweet taste of sweet potato pie. I began to grow more and more excited as I thought about the taste, and hastily bagged up four sweet potatoes and headed to the nearest Publix. While I was excited to make the pie, I wasn’t quite ready for the challenge that making a pie crust would be. I shamelessly bought a pie crust, along with just about every spice you can think of. When I returned home, I spent an hour combing the internet for a painless yet delicious pumpkin pie recipe until I decided on an “old fashioned sweet potato pie” recipe from wellplated.com. It wasn’t too involved, and it laid out the steps perfectly and carefully enough for a beginner to comprehend. To my surprise, I flew through the recipe effortlessly and didn’t run into any bumps in the road!
After a couple of hours of refrigeration and a couple of hours of eating turkey, everyone was ready for dessert. That pit returned to my stomach, and my anxiety was at an all-time high watching everyone cut into the pie and serve themselves a piece. Ecstatic isn’t the word to describe how I felt hearing everyone praise my pie. I felt so proud of myself, and so confident about my new cooking skills. Most of all, I was so happy that I was able to make the people I love happy by challenging myself and creating something we could all enjoy. This experience taught me a lot about myself and my ability to take on new challenges. I’m excited to challenge myself further and continue to share my growing fondness of cooking with the people I love. Who knows, maybe you’ll see me on Food Network one day.
