It’s less a new year’s resolution and more a general promise to myself, but I promised myself I’d write more publicly for 2011. I have a terrible timidity curse. It’s the fear that the person you think you are isn’t really the person you really are. Technically, it’s liberating to accept, but awful to realise that, well, maybe you’re not so hot a musician, or that you do actually smell really bad, or you’re a ham actor or a hack journo. But it’s not worth letting that fear prevent you from having a swing, right?
So, rather than publishing my innermost desires and everyday bits and pieces, I thought I’d have a look through my book of gumph that I write from time to time and find extracts worth sharing.
And so I happened upon an entry dated 27 September 2010. It’s a topic close to my heart at the moment, since I managed to cook about the worst meal on earth for Christmas. So I’m having to reconsider my life among the pots and pans. But, my entry goes like this:
A dream I’ve just had.
I was sort of a TV chef. But I had to teach the class how to cook. But I had no idea what. All I knew is that I had a gorgonzola in one hand. Gordon Ramsay was there. I asked him if I should start, and he said yes.
So I began my class. No mic. So I had to yell.
I still had no idea what I was teaching them, but as I said, “This is a gorgonzola” it became apparent that I was to teach them a chicken and gorgonzola casserole. I got heckled. I told them to fuck off.
My gorgonzola collapsed. Sort of went soft. Then a lady said: “I don’t understand. Where is this recipe from? Is it American?”
I said: “Chicken and cheese. Yes, I’d imagine it is.” I woke up.
That entry is followed by another dream recording that involved ?uestlove from The Roots, in which he kept referring to me as “my man”. But that’s even more confusing an entry to decipher a few months on.
As a PS to the entry here, I’ve since discovered there are wonderful things you can do with chicken and gorgonzola that seem quite international in nature.
But, I stumbled upon Betty’s Kitchen just today. This is more in the spirit of the dream. It’s a rather interesting recipe. Feel free to try it for yourself. This is a link to Betty’s casserole, in case the embed doesn’t load properly.