I am anything but a tool person, not for lack of interest but from lack of confidence. For years, our handyman was on speed dial, one of the few remaining hangers-on from our city life that, to be honest, gave me pause when we embraced our new rural adventure. With a house ripe for renovation, a few out buildings in need or repair and a great number of DIY pins quickly accumulating in my {Living} Masion Ettiene board, if I was ever going to learn to wield a power tool….the kitchen was a great place to start. But not as you might think…. if I was going to learn, I wanted instant gratification out of it, not in the form of a new kitchen cabinet, but in the form of something edible. And thus began the adventure of the Cooking with Craftsman Series.
I spent weeks learning to use a variety of power tools, and then discovering ways to cook with them. Some were simple kitchen adaptions, others not so, and evidence of this lies in the potato shrapnel that I am still scraping off my ceiling. I didn’t want to create recipes for tools that were comedic, I wanted real recipes made using power tools that really did make cooking interesting. But I was not prepared for how much fun I would have once I started filming the series with Rob North…. a true man’s man who is twice my size, and has an equally firm interest in mischief. We had a brilliant time filming, I only wish I had taken more pictures to share wit you, but the handful that I do have in my behind the scenes Instagram pics certainly show us hard at play.
The series covers a 3 course meal consisting of a Carrot and Butternut Soup, Pan Fried Steak and Bacon Wrapped Roasted Potatoes, and a Victoria Sponge Cake all made using Craftsman Tools. You can watch the full series on YouTube here. Or watch the Victoria Sponge Cake below, a favorite because, truth be told, it was the first time I baked with any real confidence…and darling, that felt amazing!