Review: Kitchen Counter Cooking School

The Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn

Genre: nonfiction

Kathleen Flinn is passionate about helping homecooks learn how to...well cook. She demystifies the entire process to nine eager volunteers hoping that at the end of the cooking school they won't feel the need to gravitate towards premade boxes for dinner, that they will realize just how simple cooking can be. Most of them enter the class unsure of how to do basic things that I take for granted (how to season, how to spice up a recipe that is horribly dull). They are overly cautious and for most of them their lack of cooking ability ties into a lack of self-confidence. Flinn's goal is to teach them the basics but also to show them just how delicious the 'basics' can be.

Her approach to cooking is everything I ever wanted.

You see, I'm not the biggest fan of strict recipes. Sure I'll follow them-- and generally I don't stray too far-- but what the physicist in me really wants is fundamental knowledge. I don't want to know this specific recipe for braised chicken; I want to know the general way to braise meat (when to do it, how long, flavor ideas). I don't want to know a specific pasta sauce recipe, I want to know some basic ways to make a sauce so that when I look in my fridge, I can plot out what to do with what I have.

This book weaves lessons in the cooking fundamentals (how to braise something, how to make a soup) with delightful anecdotes about the women going through the cooking class. Once you know the basics it is easy to cook with whatever food you happen to have on hand, as opposed to shopping exclusively for one recipe.

I adored this book; it was entertaining but it was also extremely informative. And what better way to convey that but by cooking one of the many recipes included in the book?

Roasted Zucchini Pasta

(link to original recipe, you can use either rice or pasta)

What appealed to me most about the recipe was its simplicity-- and reported deliciousness. 

You simply chop up a bunch zucchini, roasted them until they dissolve. Cook some pasta, reserve the water and add to the zucchini, mix together, and well...that's it. 

I added some onions because I am obsessed with caramelized onions-- a technique I still haven't mastered to my satisfaction but I've heard you can caramelize onions in a crockpot and I might try that soon. 

The recipe was simple-- that part is true.

however.

it pains me to say this

I honestly didn't expect this at all.....
But the end result was quite definitely bland. About halfway through cooking this recipe it struck me that while it was easy, there didn't seem to be any flavor going into the dish.

Now if you made this during the height of summer when fresh zucchinis practically jump off the farmer stand and roll up to your front door then yeah, this recipe might be amazing.

But during the middle of winter cooking with zucchinis you picked up at Aldis? Yeah, no. They lack a strong flavor which means that this pasta lacks flavor and depth. If I were to cook this again I would probably roast garlic in the oven and add that to the sauce, along with some herbs (rosemary? maybe a splash of soy sauce to add depth to the sauce?). While I was cooking I did everything I could to add last-minute flavor to a dull dish but it didn't quite work.

It feels odd to end a glowing review of a book with a less-than-glowing review of a recipe from that book and it feels dishonest to glaze over how the cooking actually turned out but! Please don't let this one recipe misfire turn you away from a really good book. Even if you don't pick up any specific recipes from this book, it will motivate you to get back into the kitchen and cook!