THE NERVOUS COOK PLANS

The Nervous Cook's mother did cook (under protest) but wasn't what you would ever call comfortable in the kitchen.  She much preferred sitting on her shady, cozy patio with book in hand, ashtray at her elbow and, if it was after five, a small glass of Chablis.  She took her younger daughter to the library every week, made her listen to the Metropolitan Opera's broadcast each Saturday afternoon, and dragged her to the Community Concerts four times each winter.  She did not teach her how to cook a roast, bake bread, can vegies nor assemble stuffing for a Thanksgiving turkey.  The young girl could, however, shake up a mean whiskey sour strong enough to mellow many a '60's Mad Man.

The Nervous Cook and her Sweet Baboo have invited six friends for Thanksgiving Dinner.  So, the Nervous Cook is thinking to herself, what in the h*#l have I done?  This event will obviously call for serious cooking skills which might include baking, stirring, crusting, mashing, basting and stuffing--with a bit of sheer hysteria folded in.

So, the Nervous Cook plans...

Despite being a Nervous Cook, our gal has quite a cookbook collection.  She has gathered a representative sample to begin the planning process.  But somehow, even to her, it seems sick and wrong, if not completely Un-American, to cook a Thanksgiving dinner for eight in fifteen minutes.



The Nervous Cook has now jumped from the sublime to the ridiculous.  While the Women of Great Taste cookbook from the Wichita Junior League generally yields quite tasty dishes, it is usually a long and winding road to get there.  The Nervous Cook doesn't have that much time.

The Nervous Cook has now called on Williams-Sonoma's Christmas cookbook--you can sense the tension building.  The Nervous Cook is scanning stray printouts of untried recipes from the computer and seeking the comfort of The Pioneer Woman's calmness.

The Nervous Cook is now finished.  She has checked drawers and shelves for ingredients, she has used up the computer's battery, and her list is complete.  She is going to lie down now.