First and foremost, I cook what I like, what sounds good to me. Yes, that's right, my cooking is SELFISH. If I don't like it, then I must really like you if I make it for you. (I suppose I could also be swayed by cash!) What I like, however, always seems to be evolving and changing. Certainly some things are constant, but I feel it's safe to say my horizons continue to expand, my taste buds change, some things grow on me and others lose their appeal. I have been fortunate enough to travel a lot in the past 5-7 years. I've learned to enjoy many international cuisines and the spices that differentiate them. Thai, Indian, Greek, French, Italian, South African, Argentinian. I'm sure there are more. The point is, once I started trying new things, I couldn't stop. There is a whole world of amazingly delicious, fresh, flavorful and healthy food out there! Make no mistake, there are a whole slew of extremely decadent & insanely fattening foods that I have loved just as much. Fortunately for my waist line, my stomach doesn't usually share that love, so I don't eat them often and when I do, I savor each of my relatively few bites.
I read a lot of food magazines, books, cookbooks, websites and blogs. My favorite food book right now is 'A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table' by Molly Wizenberg. She also writes a blog, Orangette, which you can find a link to in the 'Blogs I Follow' section of my blog page. She doesn't know me, but I think we would be great friends. She has an incredible talent for writing about food and sharing the stories from her life that have made those particular foods/recipes memorable. It's so real, I love it.
Often times, I have a craving and I search for a recipe to satisfy it. Maybe there is one main ingredient in my mind, but it's just as likely that I have thought of a few things that sound yummy. On a recent occasion, I was thinking of basil, goat cheese and strawberries. So I googled those three words, read a few recipes, found one that I kind of liked and went to Whole Foods. This particular recipe called for spreading a mix of goat cheese and cream cheese with chopped basil onto grilled flatbread before topping with strawberries and drizzling with balsamic vinegar that had been reduced to a syrup. Sounds good, except grilled flatbread didn't excite me. I wanted something with a hint of sweetness. But only a hint. I wandered the aisles looking for something that would do the trick. After a good bit of time, I had nearly given up and was going to settle for the flatbread. Until I was walking down the frozen food aisle on my way to checkout and spotted them. Mini toaster waffles. Yes, yes, YES! Perfect. Easy, bite size, sturdy enough to hold the toppings and just a hint of sweetness. And, you know what, people loved them!
During my 10 years in Chicago and New York, I have eaten at hundreds of restaurants. In fact, when I first moved to New York, I took a card from every restaurant I ate at that had them. In case I gained significant pounds from my culinary adventures, I wanted something tangible to look at as proof of what had happened! Luckily, if you can call it that, I also worked long enough hours on many days with no time for eating that somehow it balanced out. Either way, there have been some out of this world meals along the way, and others that were relatively ho hum. The foodie in me was awakened, and I began picking up on the "little things" that took a dish from ordinary to extraordinary. I began to learn new flavors, to appreciate new combinations of ingredients, and to store these little nuggets of information away in the back of my mind.
My last great source of experience and inspiration is the oldest one, and although it may not be the most apparent, it arguably has the most influence. Home-cooked meals - most often from my mother's hands, occasionally one of my grandmothers, and every once in a great while my father - every night at the family dinner table for the first 18 years of my life. To this day, I still love going home to my Mom's kitchen and cooking. And if it's summer, the first thing I want when I go home is for Dad to grill - probably a steak, sometimes a hamburger. My grandma still makes the best homemade noodles. When my grandpa was alive, he caught the best fish and the best fruits and vegetables I've eaten came from his garden. Grandma B's cinnamon rolls were something you dreamed of and begged her to make when she came to visit. I could go on.
I have fond memories of many foods, many places and the special people who have made me who I am in life and in my kitchen. I wish for everyone to be so blessed, and I hope that one day, my kitchen can be a source of great memories for my family and friends, maybe even my own children.
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