Salt, Pepper, and Garlic.

I grew up in a food loving home. Both my mom and my dad love (and are good at) cooking. My grandmother and grandfather opened a successful bakery that is now a successful and well known catering company. My aunt owns a popular and delicious restaurant about 40 minutes from me. Needless to say, I have been blessed to be surrounded by excellent food my entire life. Not only did I never go hungry, the food that I was served was much above par. I can remember wishing that my parents would buy boxed macaroni and cheese (Why? I know) because we simply did not have that kind of stuff. Everything was homemade. 

My dad was always inviting me into the kitchen to help him cook. He taught me the simple, yet so important, cooking commandments. He taught me that if a recipe calls for brown sugar, you pack it tightly into the measuring cup. However, if a recipe calls for flour, you carefully spoon it into the measuring cup and scrape of the excess with a flat edge. He taught me that while cooking allowed for a little wiggle room and inventiveness, baking is much more finicky. Cooking is an art. Baking is a science.

From the time that I can remember, I have loved cooking. It was not until I came to college, however, that I truly began to appreciate the knowledge about food I have gained throughout my life. I have learned lots of new things while cooking on my own since I've been at college and I have fallen back on many of the early lessons my dad taught me as well. 

What is the most important cooking lesson, you ask? I don't know that there is one thing that trumps another in importance. But, the whole time I was learning to cook growing up and would take something I had made to my dad for a taste test, he would ask "Did you use salt and pepper?" After he had tried whatever it may be, 9 times out of 10, he would tell me, "Add more garlic."