Heat + Meat = Food

It's that simple. Everything else is just extra. OK, OK, there is a little more to cooking than just taking raw food and applying heat to it. But that was the thought that changed my approach to the kitchen. The first "real meal" I made was a chicken in the oven of my little apartment in 83rd street on Manhattan's far east side. With great bravery I took a whole chicken, put salt and pepper on it, a sliced orange inside it, and stuck it in the oven until it was done. To test if food is done, simply cut it open and take a look - is it pink? Are the juices reddish in color? It's not fully cooked, which would be OK if you were checking a nice steak, but for a whole chicken you want the juices to be running clear when you slice into it.

In thinking of yesterday's post where I so flippantly encouraged my readers to cook a whole chicken for 2 meals plus stock for soup, it occurred to me some of you may not be comfortable cooking meat. So I want to take the smoke and mirrors away from the cooking process, because really it can be just so simple. My first meal was awesome and all my friends were wildly impressed. It was so much better (and less expensive) to eat that chicken then our normal fare of pizza or diner take-out, which back in those pre-marriage/pre-kiddo days were our basic staples.

So don't be scared, go buy some meat and stick it in the oven. The end result will be good food and a lesson learned. Approaching your first meals in this way will enable you to experience the true flavor of the dish. Heat + Meat = Food.