Raw Meat vs Medium Rare

Over the past several weeks I have been binge-watching the hit show Master Chef on Hulu. Being a visual learner, this show has enlightened and inspired me to cook meals with more fresh, quality ingredients; to watch my temperatures, measurements, and time more closely; and to cook with love and passion with instinct and sensibility, always making sure my heart & soul are on every perfect plate I compose.

The lessons didn't stop there, though. Chef's in the culinary world have a deep respect for the ingredients they utilize to compose their dishes and this is something I love because I've always felt a deep enjoyment for great food and quality ingredients. It hadn't occurred to me previously how meticulous chef's are about the precision involved in cooking, especially with specific types of meat. The color of the sear matters, the color on the interior matters, and the overall temperature matters.

Armed with this new information, I had been practicing cooking dishes that are outside of my comfort zone. One night I had pan-seared salmon with creamed spinach in a homemade sauce. It was so good I ate half for lunch and half for dinner! The pride I felt after cooking what I consider a gourmet meal was unmatched. It excited me that I was actually pulling this off and that gave me motivation to try something else.

The next thing I tried was a pan-seared ribeye over garlic roasted red potatoes and a mango lime slaw. First on the list was the slaw and it came out far better than I'd anticipated. I placed it in the refrigerator and decided to parboil the potatoes while I sear the steak and then sauté those potatoes in the fat from the steak. This proved to be pivotal to the overall flavor in those potatoes.

When the steak was finished, I set it aside on my butcher's block to rest while I finished off the potatoes. After everything had finished, I composed my plate the best I could with the sliced steak over the potatoes and the slaw on the side. I took a closeup video and put it all over my social media so my friends and family could see my accomplishment. Many of the comments I received were high praise and my favorite was from my brother who affirmed I should consider attending culinary school since the cook and sear on the steak were perfect.

Needless to say I was flying high with all the positive affirmations I was receiving as well as the flavors that worked perfectly together as I ate them. My night ended on a high note and I fell asleep knowing I really do have a gift and the passion for creating beautiful dishes that are both healthy and satisfying to the palette. My dream of becoming an excellent home cook are coming to realization.

The next day, however, I was met with a bit of opposition by my father. He commented on my video saying, "you eating raw meat?" Deep inside, I knew he would say something of this nature primarily because he is old-fashioned. He knows what he knows and hasn't learned much else except his own idea of how to improve his own recipes. He believes a fully cooked piece of meat has no hints of pink at all but, in the culinary world, the cook and color on the meat largely hinges on the type of meat you're cooking as well as the cut of meat. No color at all in the meat is considered well-done and is generally perceived to be dry.

In my life, I've learned that I enjoy a glistening medium-rare to medium cook on my steak. It's juicy, it's flavorful, and it's simply perfect. Thus, I attempted to teach him something new. I explained that, in the culinary world, there are many cooks on meat that include a little (or a lot) of pink in the middle but are still completely cooked and edible with the exception of things like certain cuts of pork which should be white throughout. Of course I do not know it all either. I have simply learned these things as I've been watching and learning from this show and Gordon Ramsay YouTube videos (as well as his book).

It's not that my father didn't see that the one daughter who has never been looked upon as a cook but as more of a black sheep of the family has actually pulled off a gourmet meal with a perfectly seared and perfectly cooked cut of ribeye steak. He simply chose to see what he wanted to see because he is ignorant to the things I now know. And rather than become upset with him, I decided to educate him. This was an accomplishment for me because I've been seeking my father's approval my entire life and have yet to gain it.

I achieved the high honor roll for the majority of my elementary school experience. First place in a creative writing contest was mine while I was only in the 5th grade. My school placed me in gifted classes since my level of intelligence exceeded most of my peers. I was the only one of my siblings who've attended and graduated high school, college, and medical school. All the while, I looked to my father to tell me he was proud of me but, instead, was met with a challenge, "what now?"

It seemed nothing I did was good enough for him to drop his macho, fatheresque exterior and be vulnerable enough to express his approval of something amazing that his daughter has accomplished. So, I began to follow my own heart and do the things that made me happy whether he agreed with it or liked it or not. This caused him to turn his back on me, shunning me as a rebel since he didn't agree with my decisions. But it was also by far the best decision I have ever made because I've lived a life I'm so proud of and I feel like I'm not just living but I'm finally thriving and that is what matters most to me now.

So, of course, his initial comment that I'm eating raw meat was hurtful considering the entire composition of the plate, including the mango lime slaw that I made from scratch for the first time ever. Here is a fully composed dish and all he can see is the pink on the meat. He didn't see that his "rebel" of a daughter cooked and plated a perfectly delicious meal. He saw that the meat was too pink for his liking and he pointed out that one flaw rather than appreciating and praising me for my accomplishment.

I accepted many years ago that he won't express that he is proud of me. He's a "man's man" who believes vulnerability and expressions of love or appreciation are equivalent to weakness. I love my father, but I realize I may never gain his approval and I've learned to be OK with that. On the other side of that same token, I'm happy to educate him along the way as I explore this culinary journey for myself. All-in-all, the only approval I should be and am learning to seek, is my own.