Interview Essay

Mama Knows Best
If anyone would be able to help me on a cooking quest it would be my mother. My mother is not only a good cook, but she will not be afraid to give me her opinion on my meals. She is woman that loves to give to others, and she is always willing to help me in anything that I might need. After this interview I hope to gain an insight on how good my first meal was and tips that I could do to improve my culinary quest for a simple delectable and unique cuisine.
My first meal on my quest for the perfect meal was that of famous French Cuisine. The main dish was Ratatouille. I always pondered what this dish was after watching the movie. My quest started by examining many of the recipes of this famous dish from many of my favorite chefs. After doing some research, I decided that Emerill Lagasse’s recipe looked like it was for me.

Emerald’s Ratatouille Recipe:
Ingredients
• 1/4 cup olive oil, plus more as needed
• 1 1/2 cups small diced yellow onion
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 cups medium diced eggplant, skin on
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 cup diced green bell peppers
• 1 cup diced red bell peppers
• 1 cup diced zucchini squash
• 1 cup diced yellow squash
• 1 1/2 cups peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Set a large 12-inch saute pan over medium heat and add the olive oil. Once hot, add the onions and garlic to the pan. Cook the onions, stirring occasionally, until they are wilted and lightly caramelized, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the eggplant and thyme to the pan and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the eggplant is partially cooked, about 5 minutes. Add the green and red peppers, zucchini, and squash and continue to cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, basil, parsley, and salt and pepper, to taste, and cook for a final 5 minutes. Stir well to blend and serve either hot or at room temperature.
After finding my recipe and inviting my mother over for dinner. I began working on making the perfect meal. There were a few things on the recipe that I tweaked a little bit, but overall I used the same recipe. The first thing that I changed in the recipe was the way that I cut the vegetables. I cut them the short way so they made pretty circles rather than long strips. Instead of cutting, seeding, and peeling my own tomatoes I used a can of diced tomatoes. I also added a couple cloves of freshly chopped garlic. My meal was served with cheesy garlic biscuits and a chocolate mousse.
My mother absolutely loved the French dish. She had never had the dish before, and she said that she was surprised at how easy it was to make. “This dish has an original and fresh taste.” She rated the taste as a four because she thinks that it should have been served with some form of meat. Then she said that she was completely full after eating the meal and that she would rate it at a five for filling. “I would love the recipe for this dish because it is healthy and tastes wholesome,” were her words after the meal was complete.
After eating my meal and discussing things that were great and things that I need to change, we talked about things that I could do to improve my quest. She began by asking me why I chose this quest. After reading my proposal it was hard for her to determine why it is that I want to complete this task. I explained to her how important I find cooking to be in my life which she understood very well since she is my mother. The reason that I came up with is very simple. My cooking is often boring and predictable, and I want it to be extraordinary and surprising.
While discussing my reasoning behind doing this quest, she made a few suggestions to help further me along in my quest. Her first suggestion is that every recipe that I make should be one that I have never even attempted before. For example it is really easy for me to make pies because I grew up making pies, but I have never made a creme brulee.
She also suggested that instead of making just one meal a week, I should make small items throughout the week. By making these small items such as appetizers and desserts, I can gain a better understanding of multiple different recipes. Her main idea and by far the best idea for my quest was for me to compose a recipe book when my work is complete. The recipe book will have all the excellent crowd pleasers in it, but it will have the side notes of what I changed to make it my own. This will make it very easy for me to pull these recipes out later on in life when I want to make something surprising rather than boring.