July 2011

After nearly 17 years of marriage (to the same guy!) I have discovered one very important thing about myself. I can’t cook my way out of a tin can to save my life. Sure, I can throw stuff into a crockpot, but actual cooking just isn’t in my repertoire. Case in point: the Cornish Hen Incident of ‘98.

I had decided I was going to cook two small Cornish Hens with a side of stuffing for dinner. The recipe said to “split each game hen in half”. Deep breath. I can do this. I grabbed a pair of kitchen scissors and started cutting the hens along the breast bone. Not such an easy task, especially considering that my highly sensitive gag reflex kicked in as soon as I heard the bones cracking and saw what the inside of a Cornish Hen actually looks like. There were guts in there. Gross, disgusting, slimy hen guts. And the guts were attached to the breast meat. Okay, another deep breath. I figured if I could just cut away the guts so I didn’t have to look at them, I might be able to stop the dry heaves. Cut, snip, heave, cut, gag, snip. Done.

Wait a minute. Where did my Cornish Hens go? By the time I was done cutting away all the slimy stuff, I didn’t have much meat left to cook. No problem. I figured I would just serve extra stuffing to make up for the lack of actual food. I opened the cupboard. Wait a minute. Where did the stuffing go? Keep breathing. Not to be deterred, I seasoned what was left of the Cornish Hens, put them in the oven and hoped for the best.

My husband thought I was serving him a chicken wing appetizer. I thought he would be comfortable sleeping on the couch. We both thought McDonalds would hit the spot.
Now, just because I can’t cook doesn’t mean that you can’t either. In fact, the Beloit Public Library has a dizzying array of cookbooks to whet your culinary appetite. Check out some of the newest ones coming soon to the library:

Authentic Norwegian Cooking by Astrid Karlsen Scott. With more than 300 recipes gathered from throughout Norway, this comprehensive cookbook is easy to use, boasts recipes for every occasion, provides the history of the dishes, and includes a complete index and recipe titles in English and Norwegian. (Product Description)

Essential Pepin: More than 700 All-Time Favorites from My Life in Food by Jacques Pepin. Essential Pépin spans the many styles of Jacques’s cooking: homey country French, haute cuisine, fast food Jacques-style, and fresh contemporary American dishes. Many of the recipes are globally inspired, from Mexico, across Europe, or the Far East. (Product Description)

The Food Allergy Cookbook: A Guide to Living with Allergies and Entertaining with Healthy, Delicious Meals by Amra Ibrisimovic and Carmel Nelson. In addition to tasty, every-day recipes--from white bean artichoke dip, cinnamon rolls, and cream of mushroom soup to chicken pot pie, cranberry apple sauce, and fudge brownies--Carmel Nelson and Amra Ibrisimovic provide full-course meal plans for family holidays and social gatherings, including the perfect allergy-free turkey dinner! (Product Description)

And be sure to look for us on the web at www.beloitlibrary.info and on Facebook.