Collaborative Cooking

Tonight Elizabeth, Weldon, and I cooked collaboratively--Norwegian hamburgers and mashed potatoes, but both had to be gluten- and dairy-free. Elizabeth had experimented last week and was pleased that tonight our collaborative effort came out pretty much like hers had last week. But you learn things cooking with other people--she learned that adding milk to the meat pattie mixture lightened the texture of it (she uses almond milk but you couldn't taste the almond), and I learned from Weldon, who made the mashed potatoes, that a bit of olive oil lightens the texture of the potatoes. Part of the plan was to have Jacob cook with us. I thought at least he'd help me make salad dressing, which he did last week, but he announced when he walked in that he was "tired of cooking." He did however don his apron for the picture above. We had lots of fun cooking and then lingering at the table--with Star Trek in the background. And while Elizabeth and I were making the meat patties, Weldon and Jacob had a good visit about the latest Star Trek movie. Jacob has, sadly, forgotten all about poor Spiderman.

Elizabeth and I decided our next collaborative project will be venison sausage from the book Ratio. But we're searching out sausage stuffing equipment--I know I used to have it, but I think it's gone, and it's not cheap to buy. She is alsos intrigued by the instructions for homemade mayonnaise, and having made it some in the past I know it's vastly superior to the store-bought product. John and Cindy had homemade mayo at Hot Tubs in their tartar sauce and cole slaw and raved about it. So that goes on my list too.
Rain, sleet, snow, and ice predicted for tonight starting at 6 p.m. Now, at ten, it still hasn't happened, but I imagine it will during the night and tomorrow. I stocked up at the store today so I wouldn't have to go early in the week but forgot a major ingredient for my dinner for Three Women in Publishing on Wednesday, so I'll have to go back, weather permitting. I'm in a cooking phase, but I'm also enjoying editing the sequel to Skeleton in a Dead Space. Retirement is really great fun.