Detail Oriented - except when it counts

I recently had to write an autobiographical paragraph that included a fun fact. I couldn't really think of anything extraordinary, so I included a line about how I'm developing an interest in cooking. Now, for the most part, this is true - I watch quite a bit of Food Network and would like to someday be a good cook. But, as evidenced by the pretty sad dinners I have eaten in weeks past, this desire isn't exactly at the top of my list. (The ultimate culinary low point came when one night my dinner consisted of a cooked Boca burger patty, chopped into pieces and rolled into a tortilla with some salsa. It was grand). I'd had high hopes when I finally moved into the apartment. Oh, the joy of having my own microwave, sink and stove. Never again would I be forced to down the drab campus dining hall food three times a day.

But then of course, real life intervened and as I progressed further into the semester, my dreams of becoming America's next superstar chef slid to the back burner. Just as any other typical college student, my meals ended up consisting mostly of boxed pasta or leftovers from home. Essentially, I was paying hundreds of dollars a month for the privilege of using a microwave. But next year, my friends will be moving in and we'll be having dinner parties and bake-offs every week. No really, we will. I promise.

Now that I'm home for break though, I really do want to give cooking a shot. And having Mom look over my shoulder is a lot easier than calling her every two minutes to ask what I should season the chicken with or how long to leave scrambling eggs on the stove. But every time I get ready to cook something, it all just seems like so much work. And everything in cooking is so...precise. Now don't get me wrong, details are important. If there's only one thing I've taken away from all my journalism classes, its that you can never proofread something enough times. So trust me, I do pay attention to all the little things. Except when it comes to "tsp" vs. "tbsp." I mean, are they really that different? And before you get ready to slap me in the head with your spatula, I learned the hard way that yes, there actually is a difference between the two. Once, I was helping my dad make pancakes, and the Bisquick box said that for fluffier pancakes, add 1 tsp. of baking soda (or was it baking powder. Whatever; they're the same thing anyways) Of course, I misread it and put in 1 tbsp. Needless to say, the pancakes' burnt taste was not a result of being overcooked. So there you have it - my first food flub. Trust me, it hasn't been the last.

Anyways, Mom came home from the grocery store this evening with one of those no-bake cheesecake boxes. So I figured, this should be easy enough, I mean, I don't even need to use any large appliances to make this (save the refrigerator). So, I followed the directions and mixed in the 2 tbsp (yes I made sure they were tablespoons this time) of sugar and the 5 tbsp of margarine with the graham cracker crust powder. But as I was mixing, it became very clear that way too much butter had found its way into the bowl. Mom asked if I had measured the right amount, and yes I had counted out the spoons and I had definitely put in five. But were they exactly five tablespoons, she asked, Well, they weren't heaping tablespoons, I replied. But did I stand there and shave off the excess margarine until the spoon was perfectly filled. Well, no. I mean, I had always just heaped tablespoons of margarine into the boxed macaroni and cheese (another dinner staple last semester), and it always tasted fine. But clearly, similar tactics do not work with no-bake cheesecake. So, I took a paper towel and absorbed all the excess butter after I laid the crust in the pan. And then I took extra care in measuring out exactly 1.5 cups of milk for the cheesecake mix. I squatted down to be eye level with the measuring cup and everything. And did the thing come out tasting pretty good, Well, yes. I mean, come on. I'd have to be a complete imbecile to mess up no-bake cheesecake any worse than I already had. But what have I learned? Once again, death lies in the details. Just as you can't rely on spell check to catch every error, you can't rely on your eyes to give you five tablespoons.