Cooking With Friends: Cooking With Jackie

Cooking With Friends: Cooking With Jackie: "I was chit chatting with my friend Jackie the other day that I should title my blog “Cooking With Jackie” instead of Cooking With Friends. ..."

Cooking With Jackie

I was chit chatting with my friend Jackie the other day that I should title my blog “Cooking With Jackie” instead of Cooking With Friends. I joked that I’d soon have to sub in some other friend’s names to make it seem like I’ve been cooking with other people as well. The truth is that I love every minute of my time cooking with Jackie and I like to write about our times together just as much! Yes, I am cooking with other people too but it’s true we have actually been cooking quite regularly together.

Our lifestyles are similar – work at home moms with kids at school a good part of the day. So, we have similar availability. Plus, she’s hooked on the CWF lifestyle herself; planning cooking dates with a number of her other friends. So when I get a “Wanna cook something?” text message from her I jump right on it.

We’ve developed a rhythm cooking together and have it down pat. We’re equal contributors with the ingredients, decide easily what we want to make together, are efficient and have a lot of fun in the hour or so we’re together.

The other day, she wanted to make something with the pears she needed to use. After some ruminating, we remembered the South Beach Diet bran muffins we’d made a while back. With minimal sugar, some oil and a lot of bran, we’ve tasted better. We couldn’t stop laughing as we sampled the muffins, deciding they needed a good smear of cream cheese frosting or handful of chocolate chips. My diabetic husband though, could enjoy to his heart’s content!

Sick Visits

My friend Jackie and I have had numerous cooking dates while stuck at home with sick kids. We’ve been doing this for years now and have avoided the feeling of isolation that often comes from being trapped in the house for days with feverish children glued to the TV.

Jackie was the first to brave the germs at my house, never deterred by a child home with a fever or even the stomach bug. She’s a firm believer that the more you’re exposed, the less likely you’ll get sick. Since I don’t think she’s ever caught even a cold from one of my sick-at-home children, it seems she’s onto something. I on the other hand am a dyed in the wool germaphoeb and have been unwilling to chance the microbes at her house. That is until this past Wednesday, when I needed to reschedule a previously cancelled cooking date.

When I got the morning call that she couldn’t come over for our soup and meatball making date I was quite disappointed. I had absolutely no desire to cook alone, with no one to talk to or keep me company. After she assured me that her little guy would be sleeping upstairs while we cooked at her house, I decided to put aside my fear and trudge on over to her house. And I am so glad I did!

With several quarts of Split Pea soup and dozens of turkey meatballs, it was a successful session. Since she had been stuck home the day before, I am pretty sure that she was thrilled with my company as much as the food. It broke up a monotonous day for her, while providing her with dinner and companionship and hopefully gave my immunity a boost! (We’ll see in a few days.)

Turkey Meatballs
Makes 2 dozen
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 pounds ground turkey (light meat)
1 medium onion, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
¾ cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped finely
1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped finely
¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste
1/8 cup olive oil for cooking

In a small saucepan, heat olive oil and sauté the onions and garlic for about five minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and combine the rest of the ingredients together well. Heat a large skillet with olive oil and make balls with the meat. Cook in batches until no longer pink inside for approximately 20 minutes. Drain on paper towels and either serve or freeze.

The Journey is the Reward

Planning a big event is often emotional, as it’s over as quick as it seems it started. My father taught me long ago to enjoy the process, sharing his wisdom that the journey is the reward. So, for my son’s Bar Mitzvah celebration this past weekend, I took that profound thought to heart and tried to find ways to savor each and every moment of the planning.
One of the ways I did this was inviting my friends to help me bake for the refreshments served at temple Friday evening. Four of us met Friday morning in my friend Kathe’s double oven equipped kitchen, with the hefty agenda to make nearly three hundred pieces of dessert and a platter of fruit -- brownies, spritz cookies and coffee cake muffins.

As we mixed, baked and organized the sweets on platters, we talked about my son, his readiness to stand before his family and friends at this momentous time in his life.

I relished this time with good friends, preparing a dessert feast. And as we worked, if you could call it that, my friend Jackie told me that it was tradition for friends and family to bake together for a Bar Mitzvah and that it was something her friend grew up doing in her community in Long Island.

I was thrilled to discover that others share what’s so natural to me, spending time with friends, preparing food together, enjoying the process. Food binds us together, we know this. Preparing it together is an intimate way of bringing friends and family closer together, another way to create community.

The event may be over, but the memories will stay with me forever, including the moments together baking cookies with good friends.

As the gal in charge of Cooking With Friends, I’m privy to a lot of information; in person feedback from friends, behind the scenes e-mails from Cooking With Friends fans and of course, my own personal experience. Like everything else in life, there are certain rules of etiquette that apply to the Cooking With Friends way of life. Not that this list is exhaustive, but you may want to keep some of them in mind. I would love to hear back from you (so please comment!) and help me make this list even more extensive.

Always keep things economically fair. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to split expenses 50/50 every time you cook with someone, but it does mean that you want to be aware of how much you each contribute to cooking dates. You should think about ingredients that you already have in your pantry (olive oil, spices, butter, eggs, etc.) and also foods that need to be bought that day. If your friend brought most of the ingredients for your last cooking date, then it’s time for you to contribute the bulk this time.

Alternate kitchens. Even though you may like your friend’s kitchen better than yours (it may be roomier or more up-to-date), I’ll bet your friend would like a change of scenery every once in a while. It’s always nice to get out of your own house!

Always Help with the Clean Up. Never leave a sink full of dishes, even if your friend tells you that it’s ok. (Unless of course you don’t mind a sink full the next time you cook at your house!)and there’s a huge chance that if your friend tells you it’s ok to leave without finishing the clean-up, she’s just being polite.

Be open and honest. If you feel like you’ve been carrying the bulk of the load lately (either economically or as the hostess), you should figure out an appropriate time to tell your friend. I’ve been in situations where I’ve had to remind a friend who’s about to go shopping that I picked up the bulk of the lasagna ingredients a month ago as. A good cooking relationship never harbors resentment.

Decide on the cooking agenda together. Even if you’re laid back about what you make, make sure that you work together on planning the cooking agenda. You want to make sure you have enough foods that please your family and meet your needs. Sometimes it works to alternate who picks the menu of the day from one cooking date to the next.

This is just a start of my Cooking With Friends etiquette. If you’re too shy to post a comment (or just don’t want your friends to see), feel free to e-mail me privately: ajbermack@verizon.net. It’s fun being the Ann Landers of Cooking With Friends!