I was never much one for cooking for others. I was shy about my techniques and flavor combinations, despite being raised by Food Network. Throughout my dating career, I only ever made my 'brownie-cups', which had the secret ingredient of marshmallow fluff. I had perfected this recipe into the most chocolate, decadent, gooey mess that I could, and if ever I graced a dinner on the ground at church, taught a Sunday School lesson or cooked anything for a man, it was my go-to pleaser. I sometimes called them my 'catch a man' brownies, because every time I made them for an interest, it caught the man.
For a short time, while in Hong Kong, I served on a mission base in the kitchen. I had previously been in a dorm-like apartment with seven other women and cooked for them on occasion. It was there I came up with my infamous honey-lemon potatoes, which are still a favorite to this day and even has my step-mothers approval as good eats. For that Christmas, I was asked to prepare mashed potatoes for our base- enough for 100 people. I have never, nor since, cooked anything for that many people. Myself and one of the base staff prepared garlic cayenne freshly mashed potatoes. For me, it wasn't too spicy and since I didn't eat spicy things back then, I thought I was a good judge. I also had another non-spicy person test and he approved as well. To this day, the kitchen manager from that time reminds me of that time I made mashed potatoes too spicy for Christmas. Oh well.
Since coming back to the States, I started to cook for my dad's side of the family at family events. I was given charge over the stuffing for Christmas and made that from scratch for only the second time in my life. I Pinterested and Food Networked some ideas, then picked up savory, fresh ingredients. My family approved and my nerves began to fall away. I started cooking various Asian dishes on monthly occasions, broadening my recipes as I become more familiar with the ingredients. I treated my dad and step-mom to my first fried rice (nearly forgetting the eggs!) and it made my dad think of his time he served in Korea. I counted it as a success and kept cooking.
When I started dating my now husband, we spent so much time together that cooking just became a a part of our life. James became the catalyst that began me cooking for other people. With me being included in his life, we began inviting people to each others homes and cooking for our friends. One of the highest compliments I've been given is when one of our brother-friends commented to his girlfriend that I was the best cook he had ever known.
For our first Thanksgiving and Christmas together as married folks, we showed out and made all the dishes we thought we could want. It was far more than two people could even think to eat within a weeks time, but we didn't care. It was good and it had us spend time together after long days at work. I know cook Asian cuisine on an average of 2-3 times a week, with the occasional Greek or Italian dish. I cook 'American' dishes more rarely, except for breakfasts on the weekends. Biscuits and gravy (which I learned how to make last year), chocolate chip pancakes with peanut butter sauce, honey glazed bacon and more often make the appearance on any given weekend.
My pride and joy in the kitchen are some of my utensils, such as our Chicago Cutlery knife set (bought with a gift card from our wedding), a rice cooker (also from a gift card) and most recently our copper cooking spoon set and copper measuring cups (shout out to TJ Maxx). James bought me a fantastic wok after mine burned out, which is a must for any kitchen that cooks Asian inspired cuisine on the regular. I would also comment that if you make rice at least once a week, a rice cooker is a life saver. Next on my list of kitchen desires is a bamboo steamer so I can properly make Asian dumplings.
I will begin posting various recipes and pictures of my dishes in the coming weeks, and if there's something specific you have in mind, let me know! You can also follow me on Instagram (@legacyelf) to see all my food porn that doesn't make it to the blog.
XOXO
Ashley
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