The Boy Who Learned To Cook

The first thing I learned to make was an egg when I was 14 years old. It took me several tries before I could make a fried egg without burning or under cooking it. I have a notorious history with the art of cooking being that I put soap in a kettle and have stepped on a cherry pie before. These were both unintentional of course but as you can see I am not a rocket scientist when it comes to cooking. So when my mother asked me to make a pie for Thanksgiving I was more than a little skeptical.

I chose to use the recipe of "A taste of Home" because it is famous in my family for having the best pumpkin pie. Everything was very new to me as I learned, the difference between the filling and the crust, what a lattice is, the difference between plastic wrap and ten foil, the pumpkin filling comes in a can, and how to tell if the pie is done. The directions said to make the crust first and I began on my tasty adventure.

Now I can't tell you how worried I was when my mom handed me this but fortunately it was just a joke!!! The pumpkin in the pumpkin pie actually comes in a can apparently. I made the dough from mushing up flour, salt, water, and shortening. Once the dough was ready I had to sandwich it in between plastic wrap and flatten it with a rolling pin. Once it was rolled up I had to put it on the pan carefully and that was probably the most difficult task.

The filling was a piece of pie. Adding all the proper ingredients was no problem to the surprise of my entire family. After dumping the filling into the pie-encrusted-pan, it was ready to be latticed. I used my fingers to make a beautiful lattice, a new life accomplishment for me. Then I put it in the oven to bake hoping and praying that I wouldn't burn it.

Fortunately for me, the pie did not burn and it was the highlight of the Thanksgiving deserts. My relatives listened to the story of how I stepped in the pie, how I once put soap in the tea kettle, but no one could argue with my pie. I was dubbed that night by my grandmother, "the boy who learned to cook."

Have you ever wrecked something you cooked and if you have, how badly did you wreck it?