Belinda Yeung, 5/17/21, PD8, Day C

Belinda Yeung

Period 8

5/17/21

Day C

Modern Mythology 2021 

Creativity & Fiction

“ON YOUR MARKS! GET SET! COOK!”

I have been obsessed with cooking shows lately and I am already updated with the latest episode of THE CHEF that I binge-watched over the weekend. Just watching them cook makes my mouth drool and stomach growl on cue. They inspire me to try myself but when I look in my fridge my hopes are shattered. I try to picture myself as a contestant on the show and challenge myself to create a 5-star Michelin dish out of whatever leftovers I have in my kitchen but all I can create is a sorry excuse for tomato sauce on bread, an insult to pizza. But like everyone says, “Practice makes perfect”, theoretically speaking, my food should become edible eventually. Well, another phrase I heard somewhere was, “There is no time like the present”, so I guess it's time to sharpen up my culinary skills.

I remember someone once gave me a cooking spell book for my birthday so time to find it. It's been centuries since I last opened my storage room where the majority of my possessions reside. I crack open the door and as a gust of wind enters the room and a pile of dust falls out. 

“ACHOO!”, I sneezed, the air in here was stifling.

I carefully trek over the random junk obscuring my way, creating an imaginary path as I ventured further into the stuffy room. I found the windows but struggled to open them as they sat untouched for quite some time. I managed after putting in some elbow grease, to open up the windows, which allowed a slight breeze of the fresh outside air along with some dewiness left from an April shower, to fill the room. The breeze alone was too weak to make any notable difference in the atmosphere of the room so it was time for me to work my magic. 

 "չԱսԾխ”, I cast a wind spell and in the palm of my hand formed a heavy gust of wind. I directed the trajectory into the room, carrying centuries’ worth of dust along with it out of the window. It took a while but it is a lot better than before. 

I forgot my locating spell but looking for a book shouldn’t be too hard right? I remember off the top of my head it was a red book with gold lettering, so I quickly scanned the room for a glimpse of color that might catch my eye. Easier said than done, like with most things, the room was full of clutter making it hard to differentiate anything. Would it be quicker for me to zoogle a locating spell online? Sometimes it's best not to be too haughty with one’s abilities and just depend on others, but I have to admit, my dependence on technology has made me quite inadequate and lazy. I find myself glued to my phone for longer than I’d like to admit but I guess one more second shouldn’t make a difference to my daily 12 hour screen time. I quickly zoogle a locating spell but then I realized I could have just zoogled a cooking spell and saved myself all the trouble. But I should finish what I started and if I take the easy route for everything might as well order food, although that does sound tempting, today is a day for self-cultivation.

I located the book and well let’s just say it was a blue book with white lettering but close enough. I scan the pages to see which dish will catch my eye and I come across a beginner-friendly recipe for fried chicken. I recall an episode of THE CHEF, where they were tasked to recreate NFC and how when the judges were eating you could hear the crunchiness of the crispy skin and you could see how juicy and tender the meat was. I suddenly got a craving for fried chicken so it looks like this is the recipe we are using.

The steps look relatively easy, the assembly of ingredients, proper prepping, and finally the spell that is the make or break moment. I read the list of ingredients to myself. Chicken thighs and wings, buttermilk, salt, pepper, seasoning,  flour, egg, and oil. The first step was to mix some of my wet and dry ingredients into a large bowl. Then I covered it with an air seal spell and put it into the fridge to marinate for a few hours. While I waited I prepared the breading with some flour and premade seasoning and poured myself a cool refreshing glass of apple cider.  Then I tuned in for the live release of the latest episode to spend my time as I waited. I guess I was too absorbed in the show that I almost forgot about my chicken until I was reminded of my hunger with the growling in my stomach. 

I checked the time and the chicken was ready to be fried. I returned to the kitchen with high expectations and eagerly took the chicken out of the fridge. I prepared a pot with oil and began to chant the heating spell that would bring the temperature of the oil up just enough to perfectly crisp the skin while cooking the meat at a moderate rate, careful not to overcook and make the meat dry rather than soft and tender. The oil bubbled slightly and fizzed as described in the book so it was time to carefully dip the chicken into the oil. As the chicken touched the oil, you could hear a loud sizzle and smell a meaty aroma slowly fill the room. I slowly cooked 2-3 pieces at a time, careful not to cook too much at once, and carefully pulled out the cooked pieces, laying them on a paper towel to soak up the extra oil. I went in for another round of frying to make the chicken even more crispy and after drying up the rest of the oil, went on to the next step of the recipe. Seal in the freshness and crispness of the chicken with a preserving spell. The difficulty of this spell proved to be quite challenging since it was quite a complex enchantment but this could keep the fried chicken from meeting its doom, turning soggy and cold. I mumbled the spell to myself a couple of times, careful not to mess up any part of it, and decided it was now or never. I took a deep breath and chanted the spell, “ ՑՂնմս՜Խա   յյյճռվյ՟Շծոչո  չքւ֏տյռռճ”.

I looked at my chicken to see it radiate a light golden glow almost highlighting the essence of its crispiness as the rough edges of the skin contrasted with the bright light. Almost like gold itself, the chicken looked too precious to eat yet too delicious not to be tempted. I quickly went to get my camera to document this moment. SNAP! Then I eagerly picked up a piece still hot and carefully bit into the skin waiting for a loud crunch to be heard. There was a crunch, not as loud and audible as the ones in the shows that I watched, but it was decent for my first try. Some steam escaped out of the chicken along with a sweet yet savory smell. I took a bigger bite this time, into the meat. It was juicy and tender but slightly overcooked, notes of umami filled my mouth yet it could use more seasoning and flavor.  I continued to eat the rest of the chicken along with some leftover apple cider. It was nice, revitalizing my taste buds and countering any of the greasiness left from the chicken. Such a combination, even though my cooking skills might be a novice at best, I think the taste of the fruits of my efforts was the most fulfilling.