Jan 09 2008
About
This page started out simply as a place for me to use as sort of a recipe index card collection, and morphed into what you see here.
Anything I post here is either something I or a family member have made many times, and has become one of my favorite foods. I don’t claim to be anywhere near an “expert” level at cooking, and have never had any real training. I try to keep things somewhat simple. Most anybody who can read these pages should be able to produce pretty much anything I post.
I am of the opinion that in order to produce great-quality meals, you need great-quality ingredients. If you try to skimp on quality, you will notice, and you will be disappointed in your final product. Unfortunately sometimes real-world situations get in the way of this. For example: where I live, in a small-town in the Midwest part of the United States getting fresh seafood is pretty much impossible. Just forget it. You’ll have to just deal with what’s available and hope for the best. But whenever possible, if you buy good quality ingredients you will be happier with your final results.
The Japanese have an expression: “Eat with your eyes”, meaning that if something looks good on the plate, then the person eating it will be convinced (to a point) that it’s going to taste good before they even eat it. This is very evident in Japanese and other Asian cuisine, (Take a look at a plate of sushi from a restaurant to see a good example of what I’m talking about.) But I believe it can apply everywhere. If something looks good, then chances are that you’re going to (even if on a subconscious level) expect it to taste good, and for many people it can totally change the perception of taste when they do get around to eating it.
I’ve also found, that for myself at least, if I am involved in the preparation of the food, It just seems to taste better. And I’m not saying it’s because I brought any extra “skill” to the stove or anything like that, just that since I was involved, maybe I was anticipating being able to eventually eat it, and had a built-up expectation of it being good before it was even done. I’d be willing to bet that if more kids had an involvement in making dinner, it wouldn’t be nearly as hard to get them to actually eat it.
When it comes to prepackaged or pre-made ingredients, I realize (and share in the quandary) that most of us don’t have the time to dedicate to cooking (or whatever else) that we’d like. So, I don’t think you necessarily have to make everything from scratch to still end up with quality food. I do produce things from scratch quite often, but just as often you can find me “cheating” by using something pre-packaged and store-bought. Particularly when I’m rushed to get something on the table after a full day of work.Many professional chefs would scoff at such a notion, but like I said, I don’t do this professionally, I just want to explore what I can do with food, try new things once in a while, and hopefully the results will end up appetizing and it will be as rewarding to eat and it was to prepare.
Basically I believe that the old saying “don’t play with your food” should only apply once it’s on the plate and you’re sitting down to eat it. When you’re preparing and cooking, by all means play with your food! Try different things, make changes to recipes, make your dinner more interesting.
I’ve had a lot of fun over the last 15 years or so teaching myself the basics, picking up tidbits of information here and there, collecting my favorite recipes, and learning how to (hopefully) make dinner more than just a daily chore.
I don’t take credit for much of the original content here, and will try to give credit where it is due, however most of the recipes will contain changes that I’ve made in order to customize something for myself, the way I like it.
If you change something up and like the results, let me know! Post in the comments, tell me what you think about something or what you would change. I’m always interested in what people do to their food to make it more interesting.