Admittedly, that is never a question to be asked at my house as the answer is, and always will be, “It is I!”. Besides the fact that we would have eggs over-easy every night, the cracked egg shells would stay on the countertop and the cooktop would be covered with salt and pepper, not to mention that there would be three or four dirty spatulas in the utensil holder. But wait, I do not believe that my husband knows where the spatulas or frying pans are anyway. So, no need to extrapolate.
More and more guys like to cook, though, and that is commendable. If one works late, runs errands, or picks up the kids, the other one is preparing dinner at home, ensuring some healthy eating habits and reaping the benefits of the oh so important family dinner.
So, Mister is cooking tonight. Missus should be happy then, but she is not. How come? Let’s go over Mister’s check list and make sure he gets it all correctly: 1) Did you fix a balanced meal? Healthy food is important to Missus, and most likely, nothing will put her in a worse mood than knowing that tonight’s dinner is going to wreck her diet. Either she will try to please you, eat a normal serving, then feel that she should not have, and that will utterly trouble her for the rest of the evening. Or, she will categorically refuse to eat your beautiful, masterful work of art, and that will create some obvious tensions.
Consequently, if you answered this first question in the negative, there is no way you will come out as a hero. Know your food pyramid, your lipids and your proteins. If you are fixing a pasta dish, refrain from adding more starch to the pasta or to the side dish. If you are cooking her favorite cream of mushrooms, it will not be a good idea to add any form of dairy product to the meal.
You see, cooking the meal for her is just not enough to put a perfect smile on her face. It comes with dietary prerequisites!
2) Did you put half a cube of butter in that bean dish? That might be a problem for Missus… Remember the dietary prerequisites… It is not only about a balanced meal; it is also about the calorie calculator.
3) Did you turn it into a big production, in other words, did you forget to clean the prep area, the countertops, the stove? Did you wash all dishes? Did you leave a clean sink?
If you answered 1) and 3) in the affirmative, you may just get the “atta-boy” treatment!
Now Missus is cooking tonight. She may think that she is on duty more frequently than should be, and she complains about it, but she tends not to fret over it because she knows that everything will be under control – the balanced meal, the calorie count, and the final clean up. Notice how quickly that was said… It is how quickly she will whip it up!
So, you see, the dynamics is quite different whether Mister or Missus is the chef tonight. One way or the other, the end result can be quite satisfying and harmonious, with a bit of understanding and consideration on both sides. That is all it takes, and it works!