Dusting Off the Cobwebs

It has been a couple of weeks since my last post, and for once, it wasn't so much from a lack of material but rather from a lack of focus. There have been several potential posts swirling around my mind, from discussing my culinary adventures with my cousin Patrick (age 11) to celebrating the recent baby boom among my friends (two of my best friends had daughters within 8 days of each other...factor in about five other babies born during that week, and it makes me wonder what was in the water last September) to acknowledging (begrudgingly) my 29th birthday. Yet, every time I sat down to type something up, there was a distinct lack of coherence.

So, here is an attempt to dust off the cobwebs in my mind and from this blog :)  I won't get to everything to day (I am not that cruel), but at least there will be something new for you all to enjoy. First up--Patrick and his pie.

Patrick was born 11 years ago, a mere three days before my 18th birthday. I had been anxious for him to arrive as he was the first child for my Uncle Chris and Aunt Susan, people who I am so fortunate to have as friends as well as family and who had provided a great deal of support and encouragement as I grew up. I didn't get to meet him right away (I was in Texas still), but receiving new photos of him or hearing about his exploits were always welcome, and no doubt, all of my friends in college heard more than they ever wanted to know about this brilliant, adorable child. (He is the child who used "beverage" instead of drink at age 2, the one who instructed his kindergarten teacher on several topics, including how to distinguish between different types of insects. It's scary how smart he can be, but we have to remember not to tell him that too often, lest he get an even bigger head than he already has--he is a bit of a know-it-all.)

Fast-forward to last week, where this still brilliant (but admittedly less adorable) boy asked me to show him how to make pie crust again. (He is entering the phase where sarcasm and snark make up much of his vocabulary...nowhere near as charming as he was several years ago) He also mentioned wanting to learn how to make bread of some kind. With this in mind, I suggested that we attempt pizza dough as well as pie crust. Plan in mind, we scheduled some time to make the dough and crust with a long-term plan of using both to prepare a meal for our family as a way to celebrate both of our birthdays.

During our two sessions (the dough and crust making & then the creation of calzones and apple pie using the previous session's efforts), I was reminded that it isn't easy teaching someone else how to cook, especially if you are as impatient as I. There were several times I had to bite my tongue to prevent my criticisms from coming out as I watched Patrick measure and mix, knead and flatten. While frustrating, it was also endearing to watch him, seeing the way in which his unpracticed hands couldn't quite get the kneading motion down or the awkward way in which he grasped the spatula as he tried to fold ingredients together in a rather graceless manner. Things are a bit more challenging at 11, and I am sure that I, too, displayed that level of clumsiness in my first cooking endeavors.

I also learned that sometimes, cooking/baking is as much an art as it is a science. Trying to explain to Patrick how you know when the dough has been kneaded enough, whether or not the timer has reached the cookbook-suggested 10 minutes, or how the pie dough is supposed to look when the butter has been cut in properly wasn't easy. These are things I have just learned to recognize over time, and being asked to quantify it perplexed me. How does one explain that recipes are often just guidelines, that you learn and adapt as you go along? That cookbooks are not always the end-all authority.

These are things that really one can only impart by allowing another to observe. Patrick isn't quite at that stage yet, but I hope that he wants to continue learning, and I hope that he allows me to work with him in the future.  Because, seriously, when everything finally did come together, we put on one heck of a meal.

The chef proudly displaying his creations.

The first piece of birthday pie

The calzones were delicious (we offered cheese and pepperoni/sausage varieties), and the pie phenomenal. I don't think I have ever tasted a better homemade apple pie (I am old school and made him prepare the filling himself. With my grandma's help, he peeled and sliced the apples, cooked them down and then added them to the prepared dough.)! I am fairly certain everyone left our little dinner party pretty satisfied.