O Town Plays Blog

I’m a pretty good cook. I started out by reading recipes and following them more or less to the letter before moving on to ‘eyeballing’ spices like I saw TV’s ‘Cajun Chef’ do on television and trusting myself in basic techniques such as sauteeing. But for some reason, whether it be lack of discipline, dislike of cleaning, or limitations in budget, I’ve tended to shy away from cookery that requires extra equipment and/or confidence with heating cream and other dairy products–like lobster or crab bisque, butter sauces, etc. My feeble attempts have mostly been pretty lackluster. I try to make a flour sauce and I get paste. I try for an emulsification and I get a bunch of stuff that looks (and tastes) like it’s been thrown together. Would I order crab bisque in a restaurant? Sure, but don’t ask me to serve it at a dinner party.