Cooking is a lot like photography. It's possible to create a serviceable product at almost any level of proficiency, but as you become more knowledgeable and skillful, you also become more ambitious and critical of your previous results. I started cooking fairly late in life, and my early efforts were pretty sad. Over the years I've learned a lot, but I'm still only a moderately proficient cook.
Like photography, there's also a
lot to learn about cooking apart from the sheer doing. I enjoy
reading cookbooks and books about food. My all-time favorites are
A.J. Liebling's Between
Meals and The Cuisines of Italy by Waverly Root. The former is worth
reading just because it's so well written. The latter offers real
insights into the relationship of culture and cuisine. Unfortunately,
both are out of print, but you often can find them in used
bookstores..
The recipes below are a few of my favorites. They are "original" in
the sense that I didn't ever read this exact version, but I'm sure
that they are all variations on something I read about or was served
in a restaurant that evolved through trial and error to its present
form . They all are pretty rudimentary (that's the kind of cooking I
do), and most take less than an hour.
Monkfish and Vegetable Stew
Duck Breasts in Orange
Sauce
Doctoral Chile con
Carne
Chicken Breasts
Picatta
Arugala Risotto with
Chevre