Over Easies

My seven year old cooked dinner the other night. Over easies, ham and toast. He made such sweet decisions. Seven year old boy things. We discussed looking at the flame to set the heat. Our all purpose pans are cast iron. Seasoned beauties. I showed him how to slowly heat up the pan before cooking anything. I’m a nice boss in general and to my son I love feeling, not like a boss. Just like a dad except small phrases to cook by pop out. “Never put anything in a cold pan!”

“K, Dad.”

He’s stood next to me while I've chefed since he could stand. I’m glad he looks at it like some grand, complex thing he is born into, as he revels in knowing vastly more than his second grade, and up, schoolmates. Funniest thing how I tell him again and again, "Don’t be a chef when you get older", because I don’t want him to endure the strain it can put on family and children. Yet here I am giving him this vast pool of information. Like...., whats he gonna do with it? As a parent you can’t help wanting to know how it all works out and look for signs about how it will because you won't see it all.

"This is how you put the meat in the pan. Hold it at the top, and lay it in, top going away from you. This way fat won’t splash toward you, but away."

"K, dad."

Eggs come up slowly. Little boy wants to flip them before they’re ready. Likes seeing the flame up way too high. (All seven year olds are pyros.) Moves things around too much. Breaks a yolk. Starts again. His dinner is great. His is very satisfied. Just like any cook he is his best critic, and uses a very developed palette. At his age he knows just how he likes his eggs. Knows just how much butter he likes on his toast. (a lot) And how long it is toasted. (not too much) Complains if his yolk isn’t runny enough.

He is learning to finesse. I think of it like kids who are from musical families. Many good cooks start very young and learn skills they take for granted. My sister in law is an extraordinary cook in this way. She is Egyptian and rooted in some gorgeous traditions. When you watch her sling it in the kitchen you can see all her training. Her hot pan. Poking and testing. Five projects going at once all over the stove. What a joy. Gigi makes the best chicken biryani and rice I’ve ever had. Fifty different ways. She has that thing. She cooked when she was very young as well.

Finesse cooking relies on attention. Being inattentive will immeadiatly ruin a dish. Pasta will be over done. Meat will be burned. Finesse cooking requires strange skills. How to whip, shimmy, and shake. A quick jolt of a pan to keep fish from sticking. Finesse cooking mostly requires knowing what your going for. It must be difficult when people haven’t had very much correctly cooked food. The trial and error in the kitchen can be laborsome and expensive.

Onions are good place to start. Take a pan and get it medium hot with some fat (butter, oil). Three or four cups of julienne onions. Make sure the pan is good ant hot. A seven. Make sure the oil is approaching smoking point. Put in the onions. Don’t move them for a bit. Let them sit and fry. The initial heat on them gets a brown going right away. Its important not to let the hot pan get cooled down when you are searing. Then the water comes out and it all starts simmering. With carmelized onions it can happen easily. If the pan stays hotter than the onions they will continue to fry and brown nicely.