QotD: I Was The Sous Chef

Who taught you how to cook?
Submitted by Donna.

I consider myself reasonably skilled in the kitchen, and I can't say there was any one person that taught me how to cook.  I didn't grow up in a house where the kitchen was a very active place; we tended to eat out most every night.  To be clear, both of my parents have plenty of cooking skills, they're just very busy people[1].  My parents taste level also increased over the years, which led me to enjoy the finer things when it comes to food. 

So, I chalk four things up to my learning to cook:  restaurants, my father's mother (my mawmaw), living in a houseful of vegans, and the food network[2].  They all worked together in teaching me to cook.  First, as I said, I've eaten the majority of the meals in my life at a restaurant, and I like to eat well.  I also really enjoyed the Food Network back in the early days, and had an epiphany when I realized that I wasn't financially solvent enough to eat out as well as I would like, and that I could totally cook the things they were showing on television.  So, I picked a recipe that was out of my kitchen comfort level, spent a good portion of the day shopping for ingredients, and made this spectacular meal.  It was, as I recall, fresh herb and mushroom stuffed chicken breasts in a Madeira reduction. 

My Mawmaw is the one individual that has influenced my cooking.  Her tendency to burn the living hell out of anything meat related notwithstanding[3], the woman can cook country style.  I have made it a point to learn her recipes, which has led to some disasters at baking biscuits.  She doesn't have to measure anything for them to come out perfect, but baking and cooking are two different worlds.  I can learn how she cooks, but I may never get the biscuits right. 

Finally, spending a chunk of a year living in a house full of vegans and vegetarians was a real lesson in how to maximize flavor with effective seasoning and herbs without resorting to animal fats to add flavor.

[1]Not to mention that my mother's mother (my nana, RIP) was British and thus wasn't exactly what you would call a whiz in the kitchen, but could make a chocolate cake (red velvet) that would make you cry. 

[2]Back when they had real cooking shows, and not Rachel Ray.

[3]She does terrible, terrible things to beef, but is definitely the reason I like bacon and sausage at about two levels past well-done.  Bacon should crumble into dust, and white gravy should be so well-browned that it's grey.