I observed a friend of mine cooking last night. Let’s call him Ted. Here is a Flickr slideshow of the entire process. Please note that the photos are in reverse chronological order, so scroll to the left rather than right. Thank you!
* * * * * * *
Ted begins the cooking process by placing most of the necessary ingredients on the counter. He pulls a chef’s knife off the wall and a sharpening blade from a drawer. Then he sharpens the knife by the sink. After removing some hangar steak from its butcher paper, he slices it into chunks on top of the paper and seasons it.
After seasoning the meat Ted takes a small break to check email on his phone. He then continues the cooking process by slicing some tomatoes and hearts of palm to add to leftover salad.
When the salad is prepared he washes and peels potatoes. Ted then takes another break when he uncorks a bottle of white wine and drinks a glass. After a glass of wine he slices an onion, repeated wipes his hands on his shirt, and talks to his girlfriend who just arrived. During their chat he adds the potatoes to boiling water. He consults a cookbook for tips.
Using an oven mitt as a potholder, he pulls a cast iron pan out of the hot oven that he neglected to remove before preheating. He continues the preparation by chopping garlic. Noticing that his girlfriend is not occupied, he hands her a carbon steel pan to be scoured. Again Ted wipes he hands all over his shirt.
The actual cooking begins when he melts butter in the pan. The flame was accidentally extinguished by Ted’s attempt to lower the heat. Reigniting the flame requires the aid of a cigarette lighter.
While the butter is melting, Ted retrieves some additional ingredients from the refrigerator. He adds the onion and garlic to the hot pan and returns the lighter to its owner. While the vegetables are cooking, he removes some leaves of thyme from their stems. When this is done he drains the potatoes.
After draining the potatoes he adds some roughly chopped mushrooms to the softened vegetables and stirs them. After a moment of cooking together, he integrates the cooked potatoes to the pan. He kindly hands a beer to one of his guests.
Then he begins browning the meat in the carbon steel pan. Once they are browned he puts the pieces into a baking sheet and puts it in the oven. To the meat pan he adds a series of ingredients that will become a sauce.
When everything is finished he plates the food for his guests and displays his accomplishment.