Cooking For The Chronically Impatient

Several months ago at a party, I was talking to a friend about cooking. She mused that she felt herself too impatient to cook well -- that she's prone to undercook things because she wants them off the stove too quickly. Apparently she told a professional chef friend this, and he responded that someone ought to put together a compilation of recipes based on personality type.

I thought of this last night as I made a nice impromptu yellowfin tuna recipe. It's really the perfect dish for the chronically impatient. (Like my friend, I'm much more likely to get impatient and undercook things than I am to burn them.) First, I mashed some orange zest and juice with butter and scallions. Then I dusted the tuna with a little sea salt and coriander and seared it in a grill pan, three minutes on each side. You have to work to undercook this; it's hard to make sure that it actually stays pink inside.

Other suggestions, if I put a cookbook featuring recipes for the chronically impatient? Fish more generally, including salmon and swordfish. Fresh pastas; they cook up nicely in two-three minutes, as opposed to the ten to twelve dry generally take. And yes, this gets expensive, but filet mignon. Also good with herb or roasted red pepper butter, or perhaps a crust blue cheese and scallions. I'm also usually fine doing anything with an oven -- so long as I walk away until the timer goes off, I'm prone not to screw things up.

On the other hand, I'm bad at pancakes. I always want to flip them too soon and then they flop inside themselves. Those are better for people of the reverse disposition. Ditto omelettes.

What other foods belong in this cookbook? For both the chronically impatient and cooks of the reverse type?

Also, this whole discussion reminds of the scene in the (old, featuring Audrey Hepburn) Sabrina, in which an elderly cook at her Parisian school tells her that women who are happy in love burn their souffles, and women who are unhappy in love forget to turn on the oven. I've been happy and unhappy in love. In both states, I'm much more likely to forget to turn the oven on. Make of that what you will.