The question that is STILL on everyone’s mind…. Can Sandra Cook?

Joey and I attended a slew of parties this month, and we were very fortunate to meet some very enthusiastic people who loved the show.  We always get asked a ton of questions about it, but the one question that makes us laugh is: “Sandra, did you ever learn how to cook?!”

To answer, YES, I did learn how.  It wasn’t easy, in fact, I feel bad for Joey considering he had to consume endless concoctions of failed attempts of turning something meant to be unhealthy into a meal that is healthy, but in the end, I have conquered the kitchen.

For starters, I have mastered the perfect steak (Round of applause please).  I thank my mother in law for actually helping perfect it, and I have it down to a science. Grill steaks 7 minutes, each side.  Joey is extremely grateful of this, and I feel better buying prime cuts now being that I have learnt how NOT to light them on fire.

My mother purchased me “the bible” or known to most as the “Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book”, in which has common recipes.  She also bought me the entire cookbook series from Giada De Laurentiis and I have come to terms that she is my kitchen Guru.  I have watched her shows, I read the books, and I literally owe that woman my life lol.

I also make some seriously healthy and delicious alternatives to really unhealthy recipes. Like I said before, this was no easy task.

I’ll take something bad for you, like loaded with cheese, fat, cholesterol, and I put alternatives in their place.  I was a semi-vegetarian, so using products like Tofu, vegetable cheese, and non-meat products is something I am fairly use too.  On the other hand, my husband cringes at the thought of tofu, and refuses to eat it unless it’s in miso soup.  So trying to make meals suitable enough to be considered good yet healthy was friggin’ task unto itself.

There has been my fair share of failed attempts.  Perhaps the worse was my attempt to make buckwheat pancakes oppose to whole wheat.  I thought its nutritional value was a little better than whole wheat.  I made the presentation perfect, right down to a berry sauce drizzled on top.  It didn’t matter.  Because it was absolutely the worse pancakes we ever had.  So buckwheat was a fail.

I have, however, created some meals that are so healthy, and yet so tasty, that Joey actually tells me that he is craving it.  SCORE! I mean that is major in my book! And I feel really proud of myself.  Now this doesn’t mean I’m going to open a restaurant or something, but I was determined to be a master of my kitchen.

I also love to bake, as some of our fans know.  Apple pies, crumb cakes, pumpkin pies, cookies, pastries, you name it, I make it.  And I make them UNHEALTHY! Loaded with Sugar, butter, chocolate, and all the insane yumminess that would send Jenny Craig right into the arms of Weight Watchers lol. Don’t get me wrong; I make sugar free/fat free goodies for those who cannot have unhealthy desserts. I am very considerate; in fact, I made a delicious Angel food cake the other day with strawberries.  My Lord, it was, excuse the pun, Heavenly.

And, I just want to put this on record; I make the BEST crumb cake in the world.  And I can say this because my nieces and nephews say so. No but its really good.  And that is a recipe that I will die with.

So for our fans out there, Announcement:  I may not be an expert, but this girl can cook.  Maybe one day I’ll share my recipes, but I’m actually really shy about it.  I’m still very modest with compliments, which is good, because I will never be cocky. And, for the record, Joey does participate in the kitchen as well.  He makes excellent pizza, from scratch.  Apparently, my kitchen Guru Giada is rubbing off on everyone.