. . . learning to cook!

I've been on a cooking craze lately. There's just something about Food Network that gets me excited about life. Last night I spent about an hour looking up recipes by Paula Deen and Sandra Lee. (FYI Paula Deen is better.) And yesterday, Phil and I went on a grocery-store shopping spree for his poor empty refrigerator. Hopefully he will be the beneficiary of my cooking experiments--rather than the victim.

Here are some recipes I've been wanting to try out!

Breakfast:
Apple Walnut Sticky Buns--Sandra Lee
Baked French Toast Casserole--Paula Deen

Appetizer:
Tomato and Mozzarella Tarts--Paula Deen

Dessert:
Chocolate Pecan Layer Cake--Paula Deen

I wanted to throw some photos up here, but not every recipe has one. I guess I'll just have to make them someday and post my own pictures!

In a similar vein, my mom is the best cook on this planet. (Sorry Bobby Flay.) I've been watching her my whole life without really realizing just how totally awesome she is in the kitchen. Luckily for me, I've picked up some of her tricks and quirks. Just the other night I made stuffed french toast for Phil (without measuring out anything--in true Mom fashion). Of course it didn't look like Mom's, but it tasted pretty good (he said). Here's a picture of Mom's Raspberry Stuffed French Toast.

Check out the light dusting of powdered sugar. Classy, right?

Yum! She also makes her own "from scratch" Buttermilk Syrup, which is to die for. Oh, that raspberry sauce is from scratch too. But the amazing thing is that even though a lot of this is homemade, none of it is so difficult as to scare a young chef like me away. She has seriously mastered the art of taking something simple and easy, and making it delicious and beautiful.

When I move away from home, I'll probably use Food Network as an inspiration for dishes. But then I'll do it Mom's way and "throw my own twist" into everything. And if I'm experimenting in the kitchen, how could it ever be boring?