Thank Goodness I Watched Too Much TV As A Kid
My love affair with cooking started 30 years ago.
I used to watch those cooking shows on PBS channel 13. Chefs like Julia Child, Martin Yan and later on Martha Stewart were some of the regulars we watched on TV. One of my favorite television cooking shows was Yan Can Cook, Asian food at its best.
Martin Yan was amazing, all those flavors and techniques. Watching him I learned knife skills, and to this day one of my favorite parts of cooking is the prep., chopping, slicing and dicing! Thank you Martin Yan for teaching me so much.
Growing up my mom’s version of Chinese food was LA Choy in a can. (cute jingle, “LA Choy makes Chinese food, swing American” ) Two cans attached to each other with the saucy bit in the bottom can and the crunchy bit in the top can. So , when Martin Yan talked about fresh ginger, garlic and soy sauce I was eager to learn!
Julia Child taught me the importance of a sharp knife and a good knob of butter added at the end to thicken a sauce. She could break down a chicken like nobody’s business. I still to this day make Coq Au Vin because of her. That’s a luscious chicken dish made with red wine and herbs.
Poor Julia, I think she became even more famous because of the Saturday Night Live skit with Dan Aykroyd about saving the liver. Check it out, LOL!
Spoiler Alert!!! Graphic, in a fake blood splattering sort of way, but funny!!
SNL Julia Child – Save the Liver Video
Martha Stewart taught me the importance of presentation and doing things with excellence, she always set a beautiful table. I say, Setting a lovely table is a complement to your guests. It says you care.
Here’s how to lay out a perfect table setting.
From left to right working your way into the plate, salad fork first because that is the first fork you are going to use. Then main course fork to the right of that because the main course comes after the salad.
On the right working in to your plate, your soup spoon because you would eat your soup before the main course then your dinner knife.
The serrated edge or sharp side of the dinner knife should always be facing in towards your plate. “Away from your neighbor” mom would always say. It’s just polite after all!
Wine glass above the knife and the water glass to the left of that. If you are only serving water then place the water glass above the knife. When serving bread , your bread plate would go to the left of the main course plate above the forks. If you are not having salad with dinner, switch the above two forks. Dinner comes first. Unless you are my mom, her desire would be to eat desert first!
In the words of Martha Stewart, “Life is too complicated not to be orderly”.
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Thank you !
XOXO
Martha