Le Cordon Bleu at Home

Part One -- The Easy Stuff

Nothing original here -- having seen Julie and Julia, I realized one weakness in my cooking armour is documentation. I often surprise myself and forget what/how later. More egregious, I make mistakes and repeat them because I am compelled by my nature to have "oh shit" moments that recur like Groundhog Day.

The Le Cordon Bleu at Home cookbook is organized into entire meals that intend to assist the amateur cook in learning basic skills then building on them. My ego insists that I point out that I learned many of these basic skills from Jim Mandio (and the "other Jim" whose name now escapes my addled brain) back in the 1980s. The two Jims were both edumacated at CIA, cooked at the Sheraton in Bordentown (now a Ramada Inn) with me. Sunday's were a borefest until dinner time, so much free instruction (as well as unauthorized consumption) occurred. This is my systematic attempt to formalize what I have been doing for decades.