Tell Me Lies, Tell Me Sweet Little Lies

With apologies to Fleetwood Mac, I return to the topic of cooking to please others. As I've mentioned in previous posts, I'm pretty much comfortable cooking for Keith and Keith only. My goal is to be more comfortable cooking for others. Let me clarify, though, what I mean by "pretty much" comfortable.

If I cook something for Keith, he's thankfully, at least in retrospect, very honest with me. I can say this with certainty. However, if he compliments my cooking, I'm not altogether convinced he means it. I'm so filled with self-doubt about my cooking that despite my KNOWING that he is speaking truthfully, I will convince myself he's stretching the truth to make me feel better. He will say,' That's really good." about a particular dish and I will quiz him beyond that assurance relentlessly. How positively neurotic of me. I have found that I am not alone there.

My friend and co-worker Ginny is just like me in this respect. She made a German Chocolate cake and no matter how many times her main squeeze tried to convince her the cake was good, she had a hard time believing it. She brought the remainder of the cake to work and we tried it. It was very good. I can tell she's still not convinced though. I understand. I wouldn't be either.

I will become more confident though. Tonight's dinner of tilapia in a chile pepper sauce with couscous and salad was just passable though. Nothing earth-shattering. That's the point, though....it doesn't always have to be.

Read a great article in KC magazine by the always entertaining David Wayne Reed. He has also made the desire to be a better cook be known. His line of declaration is classic:

I will be a better cook. And I will make you taste my success.