http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/02/09/daily-prompt-ingredients/

Confession: I’m no Julia Child.

I have other talents and interests.
If that sounds defensive, it’s because it is.
Cooking triggers my ‘insecurity’ and reveals my soft under belly of inadequacy.
In my family I’m a lone island of Culinary Failure surrounded by a Sea of Good Cooks.
They’re thinking of having my DNA tested to see if maybe I was switched at birth.

And just when I thought I was safe because American woman had gone all  corporate Board Room,
reading Lean In,
and entertaining  female Presidential possibilities,
—the Foodie thing happened.

And frankly, it’s a nightmare for me.
My friend Patty and I say we’re Utility Cooks.
We get the job done, but there’s not much art in it.
Like the ladies who worked in the School Cafeteria when I was a kid.

Now there’s 24 hour television dedicated to making us all professional chefs.

Sometimes I think it’s a conspiracy designed to keep me in the kitchen.

This post is suppose to be about my favorite, go to, kitchen ingredient or tool.

I do have one.
My Red Le Creuset Dutch Oven.
I use it for:

• Jam in the summer
• Pot Roast in the Fall and Winter
• Spaghetti Sauce all year
• Baked Stuffed Flank Steak
• Beef Stew
• Swiss Steak
• Chicken Marsala
• Chicken Divan
• The Barefoot Contessa’s Cabbage Rolls
• and the list is constantly growing.

Why I Love My Le Creuset:

• It’s red, which is seriously FUN.
• It’s enameled interior is food safe and not adding aluminum to everything cooked in it.
• It’s smaller than my old aluminum Dutch oven and a great size now that I’m cooking just for two.
• It fits perfectly in the drawer under my Viking stovetop.
• It’s red color matches the red knobs on my Viking stovetop.
• Whenever I use it I’m more optimistic about the outcome.

So, as Martha Stewart would say, “that’s a good thing”.

I cook because I like to eat.
I never did experience The Joy of Cooking,
the Joy of Eating Cookies maybe, but not The Joy of Cooking.

Now I have Kate.  
I wrote a post about her and if you’re curious you can read it here:
https://kellyjgrace.com/2013/07/14/a-chef-in-the-family/

I happened to catch an episode of America’s Test Kitchen on NPR  around Thanksgiving that featured the best Holiday Kitchen gadgets.

You can read the post here and there’s a link to the Radio program and a time note of where to catch just the Gadget segment:
https://kellyjgrace.com/2013/11/21/10-must-have-holiday-kitchen-gadgets/

Other Contenders:
My Pizza Stone and scraper from Pampered Chef
My Cuisinart Food Processor
My 54 year old KitchenAid Stand Mixer inherited from my mother-in-law.

Can you share a great Kitchen item, or your favorite recipe, Cookbook, or prep/cooking technique?
How do you feel about cooking?
If you love to cook, can you tell me why?  What do you love about it?
Do you think it’s an innate talent or a learned skill?

Who was the greatest influence on your feelings about cooking?

Here’s some good French Cooking music in case you’re making Poulet En Croute.

http://youtu.be/6BvL-i–8Ws