This week, I’ve seen a number of bloggers and websites talking about a new cookbook in which the author basically does exactly the opposite of what you’d think a cookbook author would do: she tells people to forget about recipes. The first few times I saw the book mentioned, I didn’t pay much attention; but by the time it was a topic of conversation over at my blogger buddy Bettina’s site, The Lunch Tray, I knew that I’d definitely want to chime in.
My thoughts, after reading a little about this radical new cookbook idea? I think it’s GREAT. I actually don’t tend to use recipes myself, as most of you know by now, and when I do it’s really just as a sort of rough guideline. I’ve written quite a bit before about the death of home cooking in America, but it occurred to me as I pondered the idea of an anti-recipe book that part of the issue is probably our collective need to know that we’re doing something right in the kitchen. People who aren’t comfortable with cooking are often so afraid of doing things wrong that they won’t deviate from recipes at all — leading to those slightly absurd, if totally understandable, situations in which all intentions of making a family meal go by the wayside as the would-be cook discovers the lack of a single ingredient called for by the venerable recipe book. No onion? Panic sets in. Can’t cook tonight. Might as well heat up a microwave meal or call for takeout.
No, reliance on recipes certainly doesn’t breed confidence in the kitchen, and it’s no help in creating a nation of people who make their own food, based on what they’ve got on hand and what’s available, fresh, and affordable. So I’ve decided to start a new little project here at RRG…something aimed at showing how simple, unglamorous, and flexible a homecooked meal can be. No fancy ingredients, no complicated directions, and nothing that can’t be changed, substituted, or omitted at your whim. I’m calling this photo diary of a dinner “Fridge to Fork,” and I’m hoping that when people see just how, well, unpretty the whole thing is, it may encourage a few tentative home cooks out there to take some baby steps towards becoming more free in their own kitchens. Yes, you too can make an unglamorous mess of your stove while pulling together a simple supper for the family. This high life isn’t just for food bloggers like me.
Croque Monsieur, Kale Salad, and Broiled Grapefruit
5:25 p.m.
You can use any bread you like. You don’t have to use ham, though it’s traditional — turkey or chicken or even roast beef would be fine. You can use whatever cheeses you like, because I’ll never know. And I don’t care what you serve with it. We just happened to have kale and grapefruit on hand.
This is the hardest part of the whole meal, which is so NOT hard that it’s barely cooking. 3 tablespoons or so of butter, whisked with an equal amount of flour, cooked for 2 minutes…
where’s the “I like” button?
Easy and yummy meal that everyone loves at home ^^ Hmmmm Croque-monsieur !!
Good job !! With the salad and the fruits, it looks delicious !!
I usually cook without following recipes. When friends ask me about a specific dish they just ate, my answer is pretty much “well, a little bit of this, of that, cooked that long etc…” not really helping lol. That’s what I call the everyday/family cooking.
Isn’t it funny how Facebook has taken over our mentality and makes us look for a “like” button on everything? Seriously, life would be so much easier if there were “like” and “dislike” buttons all over the place. 😉 Thanks for the stamp of approval! And, yes, I really have a hard time sometimes pinning down just exactly what I’ve done to make something. I can usually replicate it, but it’s hard to figure out how to explain it. That’s cooking in my world!
This is great! I often use recipes for guidance, but some of my favorite meals have been when I randomly started throwing together ingredients from my fridge and pantry. And you show here that a great dinner doesn’t always have to me something you’d find in a gourmet restaurant (although actually I have seen croque monsieur in some great restaurants 😉 – I feel like I’m always trying to tell people who don’t understand how I make dinner every night that I certainly am not making anything complicated most of the time!
Thanks, Alissa! That’s really the crux of the issue, isn’t it? People sometimes feel, I think, as if dinner has to be a major affair every night. That old protein, starch, two sides mentality leads us into thinking about Grandma’s meatloaf and mashed potatoes and we sometimes can’t update our thinking. Simple meals centered around soups, sandwiches, easy pastas, are perfect for busy families — and as long as they are full of variety and lots of produce, they’re just as healthy, if not healthier, than the old-school June Cleaver 2-hours-of-cooking affairs.
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