I'm finally doing it-an introduction

Although on occasion I have read a few blogs here and there, I never thought the time would come where I decide to write one..well now it has. About now, you are probably wondering what in the world this will be about. There are some things that people are absolutely terrified of: heights, snakes, darkness, bugs, death, cooking..wait...cooking?? The others I could understand..but seriously? Cooking? Anytime I find myself talking about cooking with a self proclaimed 'toast burner' I hear a myriad of bad cook clichés: "I make a mean mac n cheese from the box", "what about ramen noodles?'' and my personal favorite “I know how to make a pb&j!” I've heard them all and chances are you have used one of them. I always find it amusing because cooking really isn't that hard to do. I agree, it can be intimidating for a new cook, but we aren't talking about working the sauté station at a busy restaurant on a Saturday night, I'm talking about making dinner at home whether it is for yourself, your family or your friends.
It's a given, whenever we go to a friends house for a cookout or a dinner of some sort, I always end up cooking at least one thing. Rarely is it planned that once I arrive, I will be taking over in the kitchen, it just ends up happening. It will start with a simple question from the host "hey, how should I cook this?", and it usually ends with me demonstrating the entire procedure. Does this bother me? No...I love cooking which is why I chose to do it professionally. More importantly I relish the opportunity to teach someone else how to improve their culinary repertoire. In most cases they are probably terrified that they would mess something up and to be honest, I even worry about it whenever I am cooking for friends and family- and I have been cooking for most of my life! One thing I will not do is kick them out of their own kitchen and totally take over. Instead, I think it is important to walk them through what I am doing and try to pass on tips that they can use over and over again...and that my friends is what this blog is all about!
It's true, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to make dinner. In fact, I'm sure there is a rocket scientist out there somewhere right now looking in his freezer trying to decide which frozen delite he will pop in the microwave for tonight's feast. Cooking is like most skills in life, you really only have to know a handful of techniques or cooking methods that you can apply to the different recipes you chose to create. My goal is for you, the reader to be able to use this blog as a resource for your home kitchen..kind of like a cookbook with out the pages. The format is one that I think will make this even more enjoyable for you to read. Instead of randomly updating with recipes and my thoughts, I have chosen to make the subject matter seasonal. For example, with memorial day fresh under our belts we now enter one of my favorite food seasons of all; Grilling! I'm not just talking hamburgers, hot dogs and burnt on the outside raw on the inside chicken. I promise to get more in depth then that. Of equal importance is using recipes that feature foods that are in season and that will provide the optimal freshness and flavor available. I hope to use simple techniques and recipes that will allow you to wow your friends and family with your new-found skill.
With each new article I will plan to provide a recipe along with detailed instructions and photographs but I will also make an effort to cross reference a previous 'lesson' so that you can apply old techniques in different situations. I also plan to build a glossary with terms that I will use over and over again so you that will be an easy click away from refreshing your memory or learning a new culinary word or phrase. Bear with me as I get started..soon I will update with the first of what will be many delicious posts!-Jeremy