We didn't have Home Ec at our school. Sucks bc when I watched TV there was always a Home Ec episode. I esp remember the Married with Children one. Crowned rack of lamb LOL. But when I was about 11 or 12, my parents were going through a separation, and my aunts on my dad's side thought they needed to teach me and my bro how to cook bc we needed to fend for ourselves now.
so they taught us how to cook spaghetti, Mac and cheese, mashed potatoes from a box, crap like that. Recipes you get off the back of Campbell's cans. LOL They wanted us kids to make Thanksgiving dinner one year, told us to get the ham in the can, put it in the oven with pineapple again from the can, OMG can you see where this is going? Needless to say, me and my bro grew up on frozen dinners, ramen noodles, frozen dumplings (that was actual real food though) and eggs.
Wasn't until senior year of HS, my bf at the time whho was in college was really into cooking. Taught me how to make a roux (still not good at it), hollandaise sauce/double boiler stuff, poaching in oil, cooking a steak to a perfect med rare by how much the meat "gives", going to farmers m arkets etc. I had "upscale" food for the first time. Ate at Spago when Wolfgang was still the head chef, and at Matsuhisa which is still a highly rated place in LA (overrated I think), and was watching Food Network back before Emeril had his Live! show and Ming Tsai doing East meets West fusion was a new thing.
Dont' remember what was my official first dish though.
ETA I think my first "everything from scratch" recipe may very well be bc of Lisa. I've never really cooked anything other than easy stuff like omlettes or grilled meats from scratch. BC of her I made pan roast from 100% scratch startng from the stock cooking in the slow cooker and everything!
my Lisa
