Domestic Diva -- Not!

I know, I know. I should have come up with a better title, but the first word that came to mind was "domestic", and then I naturally thought of Nigella Lawson and her irritatingly perfect dishes, and then I thought, no, I will never be an inch close to that good, hence, the word "not".

So, anyway, today, I learned that to make old champagne extra bubbly, you have to drop a raisin into the glass. Not that I'm a champagne drinker (heck, I say "no" to most drinks), just that I found it interesting, the things one can do to "repair" things. I was blog-hopping while working up another experiment in pasta, and I found that bit of information over at Joanna Goddard's blog.

I'm not much for measuring stuff when I cook, so each dish comes out different, every time. I've had hits and misses, but thank god I've had more of the former than the latter. I know what I want, so I generally just follow my instincts, throwing in a bit of this, or a generous helping of that, without forgetting the basics, of course. I like  putting in loads of garlic, and I get a thrill from watching the bits sizzle when thrown into the hot oil, love the smell they sweat out just a few seconds into the swim. I've mastered the art of sprinkling in just the perfect amount of minced pepper, whereas I used to wreck dishes with putting in too much of it. It's still touch-and-go in the al dente pasta part, but I manage. How elementary, but hey, these are the stuff cooking is made of. Oh, yeah, and I love putting in melted cheese and cream of mushroom in to just about any pasta dish I whip up. I had planned on a cheese-and-cream-of-mushroom macaroni earlier, but because the original sauce came out just a tad too salty, in went the tomato sauce. I'd have to say it turned out pretty well, despite the rocky start.

Cheers!

And, oh, yeah, gotta have music with the cookin', otherwise, it's just another chore.
=)