What's For Dinner?

I have had a bug in me lately to cook.

I’m not a great cook, not even a good cook. I can make a few comfort foods ok, but that’s about it. I’m great at pop tarts and frozen pierogi, but that can only take a girl so far.

I asked for and received a few cookbooks for Christmas and my birthday. Before I went traveling at the beginning of the year, I scoured through the cookbooks looking at recipes and making a list of ingredients that my poor kitchen has never seen before. One shopping trip found Ron and me buying a whole bunch of stuff that so far has gone unused. (Hoisan sauce, oyster sauce, white wine, Tabasco, things like this.)

Well, I am not traveling for work right now. I am working so close to home, I’m home by 5:15 p.m. There is no reason I can’t cook and still have dinner ready at a reasonable time. Personally, I can live on orange spaghetti. Since Ron doesn’t share that sentiment, I dusted off my strange new ingredients and started pouring through the cookbooks again.

Wednesday, I picked a goodie. I thought I had everything I needed to make some Orange Pork. And, as an extra bonus, it was a crock pot dish. Go me!

I threw it all together Wednesday morning before heading to work. Not much to it. The more I thought about it all day long, the more excited I got about it. I could almost smell it from work. The more excited I got about dinner, the more I knew I had to share this with someone. Now, who would appreciate the fact that I was trying to cook? Mary Jane!

Who else would appreciate the fear I was feeling at the concoction I was making? Would it taste ok? Would the pork be overdone? Underdone? Would she realize that the recipe called for 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder and that’s one ingredient I didn’t have? Would she know I substituted a few extra shakes of Tabasco instead? Would it be edible? Would it kill us? Yes, Mary Jane was the perfect victim . . . I mean guest.

I called with an invitation to dinner. Unfortunately for Michael, he was home early and received an invitation too. Always up for an adventure, he agreed to join the fun. A few short hours later, the four of us sat down to dinner.

Ok, I’m not in Rachel Ray’s league just yet. Ron took over on the presentation of dinner while I fretted about taste. He laid it all out on the table to look like a meal fit for kings and queens.

Final result? It was pretty good! Hard to believe that I of all people made it. And, today is Friday and I have received no medical bills from anyone for emergency room visits for food poisoning. Aaah, life is good.

Thanks to my guinea pigs for being adventurous and trying my cooking. Just for that, you’ll be invited back the next time I try something new!