Confession time

Remember that part in Fight Club when the yet unnamed main character confronts Marla in his head? He berates her by calling her a "faker" and "tourist" and admonished her to leave.

Well my friends, in this world of cooking, baking, and all things culinary, I am Marla.

Maybe I'm being a little harsh on myself, but I feel that I am still only a novice in the kitchen. I can follow a recipe, sure, but can I riff off of it and make something that I feel is truly my own? No. Can I look in the cupboards, see what we have available, and create a meal from scratch? Nope. Can I keep my cool when something seems to be going wrong while I am cooking. Not even close.

Is it because I lack confidence in this part of my life? Abso-feaking-lutely. But I really think the answer lies in my main culinary fault...my lack of knowledge of technique. Sure I can follow that recipe, but if I actually was knowledgeable of cooking techniques I wouldn't even need it, right?

Enter Alton Brown.

I bought Alton's book I'm Just Here for the Food years ago with full intentions of, you know, actually reading it. I figure now is the time. It's a great little book that blends both technique and recipes in a way that is fun and scientific. I feel that reading this book cover-to-cover will better me in so many ways and help me with my confidence in the kitchen.

It'll be like a poor man's Julie and Julia.