I Can do that...

BOILING STONES
(Things a man can do in the Kitchen)
© August 31, 2009
By: George O. Martin, Jr.

“I can do that…”

My Lady and I like to eat. Food is a very pleasant adventure to us. We like to cook; we like to discover new recipes, we like to try new things, and we like to eat.
Now, please, don’t think we are gluttons, we are not. Our plates are always filled modestly; mine more often than it should be, but still discreetly modest. She, on the other hand, is much more careful. As a result we have both maintained our normal body images. Normal for well fed people, that is.
Seeking adventures in eating takes us to new and different restaurants sometimes. We like to just try them out. In a new place we can search the unstained menu for dishes we have not had before, or foods that are not familiar. Often times we are really pleased with the new taste or texture. Sometimes we are not. But if it is a particularly delicious dish the lady across the table from me will invariably say, “I can do that!”
The idea she is conveying is that the food she is eating is good, but she could create the same dish in her own kitchen, and do it better. Sometimes it is a way of slighting the restaurant cook. Other times it is a way of exclaiming that the food is exceptional enough to add our own table. Most times it is a way for her to lay down a challenge to herself to recreate the dish at home for a cost far less than the restaurant charges. She likes challenges, so I often hear, “I can do that!”
My job at hearing the phrase is to be slightly encouraging, or discouraging, depending on whether or not I really care for the food. If we have been served a coconut and stewed peas soufflé I am probably going to respond by saying something gloomy or at best non-committal. But if it is a dish like a white chocolate mousse with a shaved dark chocolate topping were served I would probably change my tone to one that will gently urge her toward the task. Using those tactics I have managed to help her increase her repertoire of great foods, and I have been the beneficiary. They are good ploys.
But the other day I heard the phrase in a very different place, and under very different circumstances. It was at the movies. We had gone to see the newly released picture, Julie and Julia. Our mutual interest in food and cooking drew us to this story of the life of the famous cook, Julia Child, and the parallel life of an admirer named Julie. It was a delightful show. The characters were done excellently and the story of each woman was heartwarming and fun. I encourage anyone who loves to cook to go see the picture. You will both laugh and cry for each woman as their story is told.
The premise of the story is that the younger woman challenges herself to repeat all of the recipes contained in the book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, written by Ms. Child; and, she sets a goal of doing it in one year’s time. Of course she sets about doing it in a tiny apartment kitchen, and we are shown all the clumsiness and all the difficulties as well as all of the successes.
About half way through the film is when I heard my lady quietly, almost inaudibly utter her usual phrase. “I can do that”, she said, in a muffled tone.

I didn’t pay much attention, the movie held my interest at the time. But later as we were exiting the theater I heard her say it again. This time it was directed at me, and it called for the usual responses that would push the idea ahead, or put them out of the question. I didn’t know how to respond. To reproduce over 400 French cuisine recipes in one year’s time would do serious harm to my budget as well as my waistline. To not urge her on would mean I would miss some absolutely delicious foods. So, I said, ‘That might be a bit daunting for the best cook.’
To my relief she replied, “I don’t mean to do all of the recipes. I just want to roast a chicken according to Julia’s method.
I immediately breathed easier, and my checkbook felt more comfortable in my back pocket, too. I then said, encouragingly, ‘I think you can outdo Julia any day when it comes to roasting a chicken.’ What I was really thinking was the fact that there isn’t much you can do to hurt a dead chicken.
She bought the chicken, and I could see the determination in her movements when she made the selection. She looked at them all and her fingers calculated things I didn’t understand. She got out the good roasting pan. This chicken was going to get the best. She lined up the ingredients: Onion, lemon, butter, garlic, and others. It was then I decided to leave the kitchen; I didn’t want to break her concentration. As I left she was massaging that bird with butter, the sight almost made me want to be the bird.
When she called me to dinner later in the afternoon, there was the bird as tan as if it had just returned from Miami; and my first bite told me, she can do that… she really can!