I Am A Chef Instructor - Teaching Nik To Cook

Some sounds we say are “music to my ears.”  It could be the sound of a child’s unrestrained laughter, the sound of a distant train, the words “you were right!”  The other day during a phone call from my oldest grandson, Nikolas, I heard words that were music to my ears as an Italian grandmother.  Nik called to tell me he like to come for a short visit to see me but there was something else.  “Mima, could you teach me how to cook?” he asked.  Time stopped….I heard a choir of angels…my heart lifted…could I teach him to cook?  There is little else that I can think of that I would enjoy more teaching him (unless it was how to knit) than cooking!

I never had daughters to pass my recipes on to, to help me peel the potatoes, to learn how to knead the pasta dough as I did with my mother.  Yet, all of my sons are very good cooks.  It seems that the Italian cooking gene in Nikolas was waking up and he was wanting to learn my secrets of the kitchen. Oh, happy day!

We spent the early part of the day just talking about cooking and he had a slew of questions.  "What does it mean to sauté something?  How do you know when to take the scrambled egg off the flame?  What does low flame mean, how can you recognize it. "  He had a notebook and he took copious notes.  One question led to another and I even surprised myself with my answers.  I didn’t realize I knew as much about the art of cooking as I do!

We planned our dinner.  For our first foray into the kitchen we were going to prepare chicken breasts three different ways and potatoes two ways.  We started with basics of how to prepare cutlets, how to bread and season, how to brown, to sauté aromatics, to caramelize onions and to deglaze a pan.  

Making the Marsala Sauce

In the end we enjoyed Chicken Parmagiano, Chicken Piccata and Chicken Marsala with Buttered Potatoes and Oven Roasted Potatoes.

Carrying two of the entrees to the table.

As we ate, we talked about recipes we can try on future days.  I looked at this young man and I remembered the little boy I used to rock to sleep. 

Nikolas 2 years old

I felt such a pride in the man he has become. He has grown into his own person.  He is intelligent, considerate, focused, loyal, and funny!   He is man enough to wear an apron and wield a pair of tongs.  I felt a little envy of the young women in his life who will benefit from his new culinary talents!  And I felt a deep gratitude for his presence in my life, his connection to me and the memories he continues to give me.  

Nikolas, I love you!  Thank you for the fantastic day and the fantastic memory! 

Mario Batalli…watch out!