Lake Oswego resident pens memoir on when friends taught him to cook gourmet cuisine

With the help of friends, Lake Oswego author George Sorensen embarked on a cooking odyssey that helped him morph from a novice — who, as he said, couldn’t make a tuna fish sandwich — to a gourmet cook.

Sorensen documented this experience in his new memoir “Hot Dish Confidential - That Year My Friends Taught Me to Cook,” which is available to purchase on Amazon.

The Lake Oswego resident of 18 years has written a couple business books and a history of the U.S. Army’s only bicycle corps in the 1890s. For his latest, Sorensen said he enjoyed telling the tales of his time learning to cook over the years and thought that a broader audience would be interested too.

“I think it’s going to appeal to people who are interested in food and cooking and how friendships are built,” he said.

The events of the book took place over 30 years ago, when he enlisted a group of friends who considered themselves gourmet cooks to teach him how to make a variety of cuisine. So they organized dinners with special themes like Northern Italy, Southern France, Tex Mex (where they made rattlesnake enchilladas) and a Charles Dickens Christmas dinner. They even hosted a Greek tunic party with a parthanon Sorensen built in his backyard. At each dinner, they would cook an appetizer, a couple entrees and a dessert. They would also travel to wineries, mushroom farms and restaurants to learn about culinary intricacies.

During this time Sorensen discovered the unifying force of cooking but also the differing opinions people have on things like technique, wine pairings and which dishes go with one another. He said a member of the group plans to travel from Germany for the book kickoff party.

“There were a lot of characteristics of people that came out that I didn’t know were lurking around,” he said. “The dynamics of people coming and going made it lively and exciting.”

Sorensen also wrote about falling in love with his wife and the time they won a state fair competition for their apricot jam.

For novice chefs, he recommends they find a friend who is a more experienced cook to teach them. He also lamented that people don’t have dinner parties as much as they used to but acknowledged that they can be daunting.

“To organize a gourmet-style dinner and invite people over takes some organizing and you have to overcome fears about it,” Sorensen said.

The book also includes a few recipes with illustrations provided by West Linn resident Mark Fearing.

For more information on the book or Sorensen, visit www.georgesorensen.com.