Learning to cook was key to spreading wings of this once-picky eater
Our Cook of the Week, Jack Sigan, from Hawthorn Woods, confesses he was a picky eater growing up. That may have been one of the reasons his father (who did all the family's cooking) had him helping in the kitchen at an early age.
“We made a lot of stuff — chicken Kiev, lasagna and pizza, mostly pizza!” he laughs.
Now, Jack does all the cooking for his own family, but says, “I only like to cook food I'm going to eat!” Luckily, thanks to his wife's influence and frequent travel, his palette has grown considerably. Cooking to Jack is, “relaxing, I don't have to think a lot about it.”
He loves to cook meals that deliver a punch of spice. Chinese, Japanese, German, pizza, and Cajun dishes are a few of his favorites — and he likes to cook meat.
“I like to make Mongolian beef or lemon grass chicken. My wife doesn't like to eat Chinese food out, but she will eat mine.” Jack's schnitzel, piccata, and his Tahini chicken are more of his wife's favorites. He shares his recipe for Tahini chicken with us today: chicken breasts stuffed with tahini (sesame paste), chives, butter and lemon.
“We eat at home about four times a week, so I like to plan meals ahead of time,” says Jack. The process begins with researching recipes. Jack likes reading about cooking, whether in magazines, cookbooks, or on the internet.
“I like Alton Brown a lot because he makes things funny and he talks about the science in cooking, and I like that,” says Jack, who is an electrical engineer. His other inspiration comes from eating out.
“I try copying the meals we have out at restaurants all the time. That's where I get most of my ideas.” Jack's best meal out (so far) was shrimp gumbo with fresh rosemary biscuits in New Orleans.
Now, gumbo is one of Jack's favorite meals to cook. The next step in planning meals is laying in the supplies. “I do shop at different stores looking for specific ingredients if I have to, but it annoys me when I can't find everything at one store.”
Jack works out of a home office giving him the freedom to dart into the kitchen to thaw out meat or prep items during lunch or a coffee break. He usually follows a recipe to a point and then modifies it along the way.
“Usually I leave something out because I don't like it, or I couldn't find it, or I'll substitute an ingredient for something I do like.”
The Sigans recently moved, and Jack is thrilled with his new kitchen. His new stove has a high vent that allows Jack to flambé food without worry, and he can grill inside as well.
“The double oven might be my favorite feature,” he adds, “I can finally cook two different things at two different temperatures, instead of having to compromise with one and mess up two things,” he says. The double ovens are particularly nice for holiday meals when Jack cooks for his extended family.
One area Jack would like to improve: cooking fish and seafood.
“I always seem to overcook it!”
When Jack is cooking dinner, there is often an audience of one — his 16-month-old daughter who likes her high chair view of what he's doing at the counter. She is his eager first taster.
“She tries pretty much anything I make, so hopefully she won't grow up to be as picky as I was.” he laughs.
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