Some people will say they can cook but they can’t bake and others can bake but they can’t cook. I never really thought about it before, but whenever I am cooking a new recipe, I follow the recipe for the most part, but really don’t bother to measure anything and have no problem “improving” upon the recipe and adding or deleting whatever I want. HOWEVER, when it comes to baking, I always measure everything out perfectly and very rarely do I stray from the recipe, at least not the first time I’m trying it. The reason I don’t mess with baking is that a cake is so fickle. You sub out peanut butter for regular butter and boom, cake comes out dense and oily. Maybe you add a teaspoon of vanilla to kick up the flavor but nope, you just end up with a cake that is gooey in the middle and burned around the edges. Only have two eggs and the recipe calls for three? Your cookies burn, your bread doesn’t rise and your cake resembles a large hockey puck. Altering a recipe for a baked good takes science and calculated substitutions; you can’t just add a little of this and a little of that.
On the other side of the spectrum, cooking is absolute art. While I love baking, especially the end result, I love the art of cooking even more. Going through my pantry and trying to figure out what flavors go with what based solely on what I have in the house (because I don’t feel like running to the store) can be so much fun! Take today for example, I found a recipe for a Reese’s peanut butter cake, followed the recipe to a T, and was ready to eat the batter with a spoon vs. actually baking it. But alas, I threw the batter in cake pans and placed them in the oven to bake. Meanwhile, I searched through the house to figure out what to make for dinner. I took some steaks out of the freezer to defrost, pulled a few potatoes out of the cupboard to bake, and got to thinking … baked potatoes are boring, not in the mood for mashed, what if I make twice-baked stuffed potatoes? Immediately, I went to my fridge to see what ingredients I had on hand. Hmmm, does asiago pair well with cheddar? I didn’t know, so I took a little piece of each, smooshed them together and popped it in my mouth, fab! I don’t have sour cream, guess I’ll use butter milk. Ooooooo, I think I even have some bacon!!!!
Once the steaks thawed, I rubbed them with a mix of fresh pressed garlic, cracked peppercorns and sea salt then sprinkled them lightly with a little Worcestershire sauce (say it with me Texans Woo-stur). I pulled the cake out of the oven and popped my potatoes in to bake; before I threw them in the oven, I washed the skins then rolled them in kosher salt, it makes the skins extra crispy, very important for twice-baked stuffed potatoes! Once the potatoes are cooked through, I’ll slice them in half lengthwise and scoop the insides into a bowl (always bake 3 if you’re serving 2 people, 6 if serving 4 people and so on); you only have to save as many potato halves as people you’re serving so once you have that many nicely preserved, it’s ok to ruin the others. Brush the halves very, very lightly with some olive oil (inside and out) then sprinkle with some salt and place back in the oven for about 5 more minutes and cook my bacon. Meanwhile, back to that bowl of potato innards, I’m going to add a few tbsp of non-butter, a big splash of buttermilk, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Normally, I am very much anti-lump in my potato, but for these, I use a hand masher and allow a few lumps. Once it’s all mixed up, I add half of the cheese and crumbled bacon and mix lightly with a big wooden spoon. I spoon the mixture out into my empty potato shells, top with the rest of the cheese and bacon then will eventually set them back in the oven for about 10 minutes (until the cheese is nice and melty).
On the stove, because if I’m using the grill and the oven, then clearly I have to use the stove to create a full-kitchen mess, I have a sauté pan filled with mushrooms, fresh pressed garlic, and a few tbsp of non-butter. Once Dan walks through the door, I’ll send him out back to warm up MY grill for the steaks then grill the steaks, turn on the mushrooms and pop the potatoes in the oven … all three will be done at just about the same time!
Just finished prepping everything and now I sit here and wait for Dan to get home, so I’m typing away as I ponder the differences between baking and cooking. It really does come down to art vs. science. Those that were very good at science in school are most likely much better bakers; and those that were better in the arts and English are probably best at cooking. I was really good at science and English, but well with art, ever hear the expression ‘A for effort?’ Yea, that was me. My art was never meant for a gallery, and usually hidden beneath something else on the fridge; I can draw a mean stick figure though! I guess it just took a few years to realize it, but cooking is my art.
And yes, I know I’m not having a green vegetable for dinner but dammit, I'm also having something called a Reese's peanut butter cup cake, clearly I don’t care
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