Equipping a Friend to Cook

Yesterday we had a cooking lesson at our apartment. Our good friend and I had talked about me showing him how to cook a few things (not because I’m a pro, or have any professional training, but just because I like to cook and was/am happy to share any knowledge I have). Yesterday was the first class.

Our friend is a bachelor, and admittedly doesn’t spend much time in the kitchen cooking for himself. So I thought up an easy menu that he could prepare.

Our menu included: Roast Beef, Mashed Potatoes and Homemade Gravy, Roasted Broccoli, Salad with Homemade Dressing, and Peach Crisp.

The Tri Tip Roast Beef was done in the Crock Pot. He boiled and mashed potatoes, adding the usual yummy ingredients to make them creamy. He learned how to make a rou to start the gravy, then whisked in the drippings from the roast. He chopped and roasted the broccoli with some olive oil, salt and pepper (in the toaster, because our oven is broken). We had a simple salad of romaine lettuce and heirloom tomatoes, with a homemade vinaigrette (that had been emulsified). For dessert, he chopped up some peaches, and made individual peach crisps with an oat, cinnamon, brown sugar topping. It was all delicious. And, he made it all himself! My job was simply to say what to do when, and how to do it. It was great! (And, I must say, for someone who “doesn’t cook”, he got comfortable in the kitchen fairly quickly!)

It was fun and empowering to show someone that they can cook a “fancy” meal! I’m looking forward to our next lesson!

(Update: the recipe for the roast can be found here.)