What makes a 'foodie' a 'foodie'?
Apr 1st, 2001, 04:56 PM
#1
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What makes a 'foodie' a 'foodie'?
In having dinner with friends who travel regularly to Europe, this topic came up... we all subscribe to the major food magazines and go out together to a different restaurant each week...but we are all different in our approach to food.
...some of us thought foodies were passionate people who enjoyed the verbal and physical descriptions of food enough that if versed 'just right' would run out and buy it whether from a farmer's market or restaurant, would yearn to fly to the right destination to get it based on a memory or description, and would then want to create it to share with others using our hands and waving our arms wildly to describe the menu...
Others thought foodies were analytical people who were passionate about exact measurements, oven degree temperature, regional agricultural techniques, using a pen and notepad to write down the exact recipes and preparation techniques to create them and share them with others...
Some of us grew up as children of chefs, while others grew up on macaroni and frzen fish sticks...
Clearly two different approaches in appreciating food...
Tonight, in researching a topic on Fodors, I came across 'Favorite foods of Paris' and was slumped over my desk in ecstasy reading about the perfect creme fraiche, crispy baguette and roasted duck. I must be from the first group I mentioned.
I'm not really a recipe technique person, and enjoy these verbal and physical aspects of food...(beyond the trolls out there), what do you foodies think makes you a foodie?
...some of us thought foodies were passionate people who enjoyed the verbal and physical descriptions of food enough that if versed 'just right' would run out and buy it whether from a farmer's market or restaurant, would yearn to fly to the right destination to get it based on a memory or description, and would then want to create it to share with others using our hands and waving our arms wildly to describe the menu...
Others thought foodies were analytical people who were passionate about exact measurements, oven degree temperature, regional agricultural techniques, using a pen and notepad to write down the exact recipes and preparation techniques to create them and share them with others...
Some of us grew up as children of chefs, while others grew up on macaroni and frzen fish sticks...
Clearly two different approaches in appreciating food...
Tonight, in researching a topic on Fodors, I came across 'Favorite foods of Paris' and was slumped over my desk in ecstasy reading about the perfect creme fraiche, crispy baguette and roasted duck. I must be from the first group I mentioned.
I'm not really a recipe technique person, and enjoy these verbal and physical aspects of food...(beyond the trolls out there), what do you foodies think makes you a foodie?
Apr 1st, 2001, 06:03 PM
#2
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Wendy, it sounds to me like you're more than a foodie, you're a chowhound! My favorite web site is www.chowhound.com, with great discussion boards for restaurants and food (mostly US, but some internationa). Now the guy who runs the site defines foodies in a way you wouldn't recognize--as people who mindlessly chase trends, regardless of quality. But his concept of a chowhound is very much what you describe in your first definition: someone who seeks out the very best in class, whether it's lowly peasant food or haute cuisine, who will drive across town because the cheese is that much better at the store on the other side, who is passionate about food and sharing her experience and knowledge of it. Sound familiar? I'm with you on this one. My obsession is about the food and the eating; I care about the cooking, but the pleasure to the senses (all of them) is the important thing.
Apr 1st, 2001, 06:13 PM
#3
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Voila! A great and inspiring thread.
I consider myself a consumate foodie. Definitey it's more art and passion that drives me. So I'm definitely in the first category. I can come up with masterly dishes, but I can never replicate them , whereas professional chefs have to be consistent to the point of science in order to achieve "product quality". Me, I let it flow, except when baking. Then everything must be precise.
By definition, we are adventurous eaters who appreciate fabulous ingredients and masterly preparations. Ingredients do not have to be fancy, just perfect, like the perfect vine-ripened tomato and the perfect white peach. I love the markets in France and Italy, and my herb garden at home. When we travel, I tend to have a nose for the best restaurants, which aren't necessarily the most expensive. And I do my research. Is that a common trait among other foodies?
I consider myself a consumate foodie. Definitey it's more art and passion that drives me. So I'm definitely in the first category. I can come up with masterly dishes, but I can never replicate them , whereas professional chefs have to be consistent to the point of science in order to achieve "product quality". Me, I let it flow, except when baking. Then everything must be precise.
By definition, we are adventurous eaters who appreciate fabulous ingredients and masterly preparations. Ingredients do not have to be fancy, just perfect, like the perfect vine-ripened tomato and the perfect white peach. I love the markets in France and Italy, and my herb garden at home. When we travel, I tend to have a nose for the best restaurants, which aren't necessarily the most expensive. And I do my research. Is that a common trait among other foodies?
Apr 1st, 2001, 06:19 PM
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Caitlin~
Mamma Mia. I NEVER thought I'd say this, but after reading that website, foodie I'm not...Chowhound? Sure, if that's what describes it best!?
I got wonderful tips on restaurants in Provence and La Cote D'Azur from a book by Barbara Keller, ORGASMIC DAYS IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE... I couldn't have said it better!
Mamma Mia. I NEVER thought I'd say this, but after reading that website, foodie I'm not...Chowhound? Sure, if that's what describes it best!?
I got wonderful tips on restaurants in Provence and La Cote D'Azur from a book by Barbara Keller, ORGASMIC DAYS IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE... I couldn't have said it better!
Apr 1st, 2001, 06:24 PM
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I don't think technique figures much into my own love of food - I hardly ever follow a recipe, for example. Measure? I don't THINK so! But there is nothing that pleases me more than browsing a great outdoor market, checking out fresh produce and local fish I've never heard of, asking questions of a European butcher on how best to prepare a cut of meat I'm not familiar with, or trying out a new spice or sauce. Every once in awhile I learn some technique that changes the way I cook (after all, I spend most Saturdays doing the weekly laundry while watching cooking shows, and you GOTTA pick up SOMETHING!), but mostly I like to copy and invent and improvise. If I have a great meal at a restaurant, I'll go home and try to duplicate a recipe, but I'll give it my own twist.Of course, I'm not much of a baker, because I think you really do need to be a strict recipe-follower (or have great expertise) to bake things properly. But give me a fresh market full of sparkling ingredients and I'll prepare a great repast on the spur of the moment. I also shop day to day, even in the USA, where that's contrary to most people's habits. I dream up dinner in the morning and run to the grocery store during lunchtime to get the ingredients. It makes a difference in the way we eat - if you buy in bulkfor the long term, it's a bit hard to be creative. I also have an herb garden and a spice rack with about 200 different spices in it. I grow my own tomatoes and often oher vegetables (depending on whether I'll NOT be traveling and available to take care of them) because even the farmers' markets in the USA don't offer the quality I want. I guess I'm a foodie because food is something that is always on my mind (what will we have for dinner tonight? What shall I serve on Sunday?), because it is a way to please my family and allow us to be together even in harried times (yes, we have a sit-down dinner almost every night chez nous), because it's a creative outlet (after a hard day at work, cooking is therapeutic), and because the rewards are so great ( something that tastes great is just pure pleasure).
Apr 1st, 2001, 09:25 PM
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Reading this thread reminds me of how silly I felt last week when I was in my back yard snipping chive sprouts from my herb garden in 40 degree weather (northern Ohio) for my non-reciped chicken kiev.
I love my Bon Appetit, Saveur, F&W, etc. but can't seem to follow a recipe without modification...ex: "I can't believe Jacques Pepin forgot to add rosemary to his pommes gateau."
Food is oftentimes the highlight of our travel. For our upcoming Positano trip, I had my restaurant list compiled before I booked the hotel. The Pantheon was great, but we talk more about the osso buco and spaghetti alla carbonara when discussing what to do in Rome.
I guess I too will join the chowhound club.
j.
I love my Bon Appetit, Saveur, F&W, etc. but can't seem to follow a recipe without modification...ex: "I can't believe Jacques Pepin forgot to add rosemary to his pommes gateau."
Food is oftentimes the highlight of our travel. For our upcoming Positano trip, I had my restaurant list compiled before I booked the hotel. The Pantheon was great, but we talk more about the osso buco and spaghetti alla carbonara when discussing what to do in Rome.
I guess I too will join the chowhound club.
j.
Apr 1st, 2001, 09:57 PM
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Oh . . . food, my favourite! I guess I have always thought that a foodie was someone who completely is into food. Maybe the preparation, maybe the shopping, maybe the eating. For me, vacations revolve around the street markets. Let's go to the Rialto in Venice, what day is the Saxe-Breteuil market in Paris, etc.
I, too, will see or eat something on vacation, and I can't wait to get back to the kitchen to try to recreate it.
I remember a while back hearing someone say "oh, he's such a foodie" - only it was said as a put-down. For me, being called a foodie would be the highest complement! Excuse me, I have to get back to that asparagus tarte I was making!
I, too, will see or eat something on vacation, and I can't wait to get back to the kitchen to try to recreate it.
I remember a while back hearing someone say "oh, he's such a foodie" - only it was said as a put-down. For me, being called a foodie would be the highest complement! Excuse me, I have to get back to that asparagus tarte I was making!
Apr 2nd, 2001, 04:03 AM
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I am so thrilled to hear all of your responses! I too, shop about every day, based on one meal and a few necessities...it makes me think of my adopted village of Uzes in Provence and street market in Paris, where you can go to the market and see mounds of fresh produce polished to a high shine and displayed proudly, with NO bruising or need to pick through them...ripe red succulent tomatoes, sweet peaches, bright red cherries, aromatic herbs (still in a piece of square earth)vats of picholine olives, local cheese farmers displaying pungent varities, loaves of round/square/elongated breads dusted with flour and fresh seafood and meats make it easy to go home with wonderful things, but hard to choose one menu with all that is available! (I come home and wonder how a supermarket can be proud to display wilted brown lettuce and bruised fruit...?)
Food and travel too, go hand in hand for me, whether it is Florence, Assisi, Paris, Jamaica or Cape Town, my first list and visit made is the markets...I learn a lot about another culture going to their markets!! Sadly though, because of new health regulations, you won't find many markets left in Italy and all the locals, when I asked them, had sad expressions on their faces when talking about the 'death' of the markets, and how local shops selling only organic produce are charging three times as much... it isn't as obvious in France yet for some reason, I'll keep praying!
I like the personalities of the farmers, the producers, who take care and are passionate about what they grow, chefs who serve their creation of ingredients and technique on a plate with the pride some parents feel when their child hits their first home-run.
Whether it is a roasted quail stuffed with black truffles and foie gras, Parmesan risotto with porcini or a wood oven pizza, I enjoy sharing meals with people who appreciate them too- now, on to wines with food!
Food and travel too, go hand in hand for me, whether it is Florence, Assisi, Paris, Jamaica or Cape Town, my first list and visit made is the markets...I learn a lot about another culture going to their markets!! Sadly though, because of new health regulations, you won't find many markets left in Italy and all the locals, when I asked them, had sad expressions on their faces when talking about the 'death' of the markets, and how local shops selling only organic produce are charging three times as much... it isn't as obvious in France yet for some reason, I'll keep praying!
I like the personalities of the farmers, the producers, who take care and are passionate about what they grow, chefs who serve their creation of ingredients and technique on a plate with the pride some parents feel when their child hits their first home-run.
Whether it is a roasted quail stuffed with black truffles and foie gras, Parmesan risotto with porcini or a wood oven pizza, I enjoy sharing meals with people who appreciate them too- now, on to wines with food!
Apr 2nd, 2001, 01:08 PM
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I, too, shop every day; when I hear people describe the thrill of buying 30 pounds of frozen buffalo wings at Gigundo Warehouse Club, I'm left as cold as those damn chicken parts. I admit it - I love cheap junk food like Twinkies, Peeps and Pringles but I eat it rarely. I love walking into the supermarket the day the spring asparagus first appears; I go out of my way to shop at a gourmet grocery store (for the love of Pete, they've got PASTEL radishes - I mean, they are pink, lavender and peach colored!); I make my own stock (my idea of a perfect Saturday is my giant Le Creuset stew pot, aromatic veggies, and 4 lbs of beef neckbones). I have hundreds of cookbooks and cooking magazines (I buy both on my trips, which explains the only known copy of a Maltese cookbook being in the American Southwest); I looove reading recipes (just found a recipe for honey ice cream with candied violets - French version of Rocky Road). Like StCirq, I don't like to bake; not only are the measurements too damned exact, but you can't taste it while making it, no way to "fix" it - once it's baked, you're SOL if it needed more salt.
I love the Food Channel, all the PBS cooking shows, and Chef!. If I eat new food, I immediately try to separate the flavors "is that tarragon or anise I taste?". Oh, yeah, I'm a foodie and damned proud of it...
I love the Food Channel, all the PBS cooking shows, and Chef!. If I eat new food, I immediately try to separate the flavors "is that tarragon or anise I taste?". Oh, yeah, I'm a foodie and damned proud of it...
Apr 2nd, 2001, 02:54 PM
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Food ! One of my favorite subjects.... shopping for it, preparing it, eating it.
Having the great good fortune to live in Provence, the market is one of my favorite things. A place to decide the menu for the evening, depending on what looks the best. Freshly picked asparagus, bouquets of tiny artichokes, just caught sea bass or a hideous (but delicious) 'cigale de mer', double lamb chops from the farm down the road, goat cheese of every age (also from a farm down the road), a runny Coulommier, aged Salers, wonderful roquefort and freshly baked breads ... my latest favorite is a crusty loaf made with red wine, walnuts and tiny dark raisins.
Rather like oils to an artist, these are all things I use to create 'art on a plate'. And there's nothing better than cooking with good friends. StCirq invented a fabulous fish stew in my kitchen once, while I threw ingredients at her (here, want a couple shallots ?)
The only time I measure or am in the least bit precise is when I make pastry... one teaspoon too much or too little and you can wind up with a disaster on your hands instead of a fabulous 'something' (anything chocolate comes to mind... like a chocolate truffle torte).
And whenever I travel, I always carry a small duffel bag, because I have to visit the tiny shops or local grocery stores so I can stock up on things I can't find here. In Italy it's always tuna for vitello tonnato and those fabulous mushroom stock cubes. Sigh... I finished dinner not long ago, and now I"m getting hungry again.
PB
Having the great good fortune to live in Provence, the market is one of my favorite things. A place to decide the menu for the evening, depending on what looks the best. Freshly picked asparagus, bouquets of tiny artichokes, just caught sea bass or a hideous (but delicious) 'cigale de mer', double lamb chops from the farm down the road, goat cheese of every age (also from a farm down the road), a runny Coulommier, aged Salers, wonderful roquefort and freshly baked breads ... my latest favorite is a crusty loaf made with red wine, walnuts and tiny dark raisins.
Rather like oils to an artist, these are all things I use to create 'art on a plate'. And there's nothing better than cooking with good friends. StCirq invented a fabulous fish stew in my kitchen once, while I threw ingredients at her (here, want a couple shallots ?)
The only time I measure or am in the least bit precise is when I make pastry... one teaspoon too much or too little and you can wind up with a disaster on your hands instead of a fabulous 'something' (anything chocolate comes to mind... like a chocolate truffle torte).
And whenever I travel, I always carry a small duffel bag, because I have to visit the tiny shops or local grocery stores so I can stock up on things I can't find here. In Italy it's always tuna for vitello tonnato and those fabulous mushroom stock cubes. Sigh... I finished dinner not long ago, and now I"m getting hungry again.
PB
Apr 2nd, 2001, 04:31 PM
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Again, what GREAT posts...
I noticed no-one has responded by insisting on scientific technique, and instead I've read the most beautiful eloquent down to earth posts instead,..., I wonder if it 'boils' down to the left brain-right brain issue.
In our dinner group at restaurants, we do a lot of tasting and smelling, "What do you smell, is this sage!?" and "Mmm, no, first, taste mine!" It's no wonder we get looks. Who cares...we are discovering and sharing among friends and like PBProvence, sharing this with friends and cooking with friends is probably one of my greatest joys in my life.
Riding my bike on my Saturday morning mission to find the best bread, the tangiest local cheese, and whatever looks good at the market to come home, create something with it and sharing it all at the end of the day...IS a perfect day. This activity of gathering around the stove and table with others is highly underrated!
I do not follow recipes, not because I'm against it, it is because I'm not good at it..I keep throwing more in to see what happens...in some cases disaster,in other cases...triumph!
Which is why I don't bake much, you should have seen the disaster I proudly made for my mother on mother's day last year, ever heard of scones with too little baking powder? Bless her heart, she ate them just to please me. (I felt just awful)
Collecting cookbooks, reading every magazine I can get my hand on, reading about what chefs are doing where and creating what, too, is great fun.
I am currently reading a FASCINATING book on the history of food, going back to times before 'evolution' all the way up to when procedures such as three meals a day and silverware were implemented...does anyone know it? FOOD IN HISTORY- by Reay Tannahill?
Thanks for sharing your passions about this here, it is a real pleasure to read each one's own unique thoughts!
I noticed no-one has responded by insisting on scientific technique, and instead I've read the most beautiful eloquent down to earth posts instead,..., I wonder if it 'boils' down to the left brain-right brain issue.
In our dinner group at restaurants, we do a lot of tasting and smelling, "What do you smell, is this sage!?" and "Mmm, no, first, taste mine!" It's no wonder we get looks. Who cares...we are discovering and sharing among friends and like PBProvence, sharing this with friends and cooking with friends is probably one of my greatest joys in my life.
Riding my bike on my Saturday morning mission to find the best bread, the tangiest local cheese, and whatever looks good at the market to come home, create something with it and sharing it all at the end of the day...IS a perfect day. This activity of gathering around the stove and table with others is highly underrated!
I do not follow recipes, not because I'm against it, it is because I'm not good at it..I keep throwing more in to see what happens...in some cases disaster,in other cases...triumph!
Which is why I don't bake much, you should have seen the disaster I proudly made for my mother on mother's day last year, ever heard of scones with too little baking powder? Bless her heart, she ate them just to please me. (I felt just awful)
Collecting cookbooks, reading every magazine I can get my hand on, reading about what chefs are doing where and creating what, too, is great fun.
I am currently reading a FASCINATING book on the history of food, going back to times before 'evolution' all the way up to when procedures such as three meals a day and silverware were implemented...does anyone know it? FOOD IN HISTORY- by Reay Tannahill?
Thanks for sharing your passions about this here, it is a real pleasure to read each one's own unique thoughts!
Apr 2nd, 2001, 04:42 PM
#12
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Speaking of Food Tv programs and chefs, any favorite chefs, formats or programs?
I like the programs that venture outside the kitchen as well as educate on why certain apples bake better than others, wines that go with certain meals, and thank goodness for the episode that showed how to actually get inside an artichoke!
I like the programs that venture outside the kitchen as well as educate on why certain apples bake better than others, wines that go with certain meals, and thank goodness for the episode that showed how to actually get inside an artichoke!
Apr 2nd, 2001, 04:52 PM
#13
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Just the other night my husband and I found a Julia Child/Jacque Pepin cooking show on PBS. I think it epitomized the term "foodie." All they were doing on this particular show was cooking eggs. Starting with simple omelets. What a sweet pair they made. After the plain, then the mushroom, they moved on to a lovely "Western" with multi-colored peppers, onions, etc. As it finished they both could no longer resist "Oh, I just have to taste that..." You really had to giggle. They then moved on to poaching eggs and making Benedict---Oh my, of course they enjoyed tasting that. These two very accomplished chefs were going bananas over eggs. Chuckling and savoring every bite. It was charming, funny, and why good food is so enjoyed by just about everyone!
Apr 2nd, 2001, 05:14 PM
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In our area, Saturday on PBS is nonstop food shows from 9:00 until 3:00 and it's wonderful.
I love them all, but one of my favorites was a few years ago. It was with Lorenza de Medici, and each episode she visited someplace special: a balsamic producer in Modena, a gelato store in Florence, Peck in Milan (one of my favorite food boutiques!). I haven't seen it in years but if it comes to your local PBS don't miss it. A similar format was used on a Guiliano Bugialli show. I think it's great when they take you out of the kitchen for a visit to a market or winery.
By the way - the Asparagus Tarte with the black pepper crust from the Gourmet "Paris" issue is delicious and very easy to make. A slice with a glass of Sancerre and a little frisee salade . . . wow, I'm almost back on the Rue St. Antoine!
I love them all, but one of my favorites was a few years ago. It was with Lorenza de Medici, and each episode she visited someplace special: a balsamic producer in Modena, a gelato store in Florence, Peck in Milan (one of my favorite food boutiques!). I haven't seen it in years but if it comes to your local PBS don't miss it. A similar format was used on a Guiliano Bugialli show. I think it's great when they take you out of the kitchen for a visit to a market or winery.
By the way - the Asparagus Tarte with the black pepper crust from the Gourmet "Paris" issue is delicious and very easy to make. A slice with a glass of Sancerre and a little frisee salade . . . wow, I'm almost back on the Rue St. Antoine!
Apr 2nd, 2001, 05:16 PM
#15
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Wendy,
When I was in college my roommates could not BELIEVE that I would actually set up the VCR to record "Great Chefs" on the Discovery Channel while I was at class/work. I've found this to be TV's most "hardcore" cooking show; a brief bio of the chef's career, then the prep work begins. It is still on M-R @ 4 & 4:30 pm.
I'm also an addict of the Food Network, but find most of the shows are a bit "soft" for me (don't spend 5 minutes explaining what al dente means). Specific shows I like are "Mario eats Italy," "Good Eats," (very informative...focuses on the perfect way to prepare specific foods), and "The Naked Chef." Emeril has mass appeal, and is doing a lot for mainstreaming cooking shows, but is not my favorite.
The hands-down, all time favorites are Jacques Pepin and Julia Child. They have each had their own shows and have also produced shows jointly, and are fantastic together. I remember watching both of these icons as a child with my mom, and still love catching their shows on PBS. They have a great recipe/technique book that came out in 1999; "Cooking at Home."
One last show deserves mention: "Iron Chef," also on the Food Network is in a class all it's own. It would take me an hour to describe it here, but it's on my must-see list. Schedules at foodtv.com. Let me know what you think.
Thanks.
j.
When I was in college my roommates could not BELIEVE that I would actually set up the VCR to record "Great Chefs" on the Discovery Channel while I was at class/work. I've found this to be TV's most "hardcore" cooking show; a brief bio of the chef's career, then the prep work begins. It is still on M-R @ 4 & 4:30 pm.
I'm also an addict of the Food Network, but find most of the shows are a bit "soft" for me (don't spend 5 minutes explaining what al dente means). Specific shows I like are "Mario eats Italy," "Good Eats," (very informative...focuses on the perfect way to prepare specific foods), and "The Naked Chef." Emeril has mass appeal, and is doing a lot for mainstreaming cooking shows, but is not my favorite.
The hands-down, all time favorites are Jacques Pepin and Julia Child. They have each had their own shows and have also produced shows jointly, and are fantastic together. I remember watching both of these icons as a child with my mom, and still love catching their shows on PBS. They have a great recipe/technique book that came out in 1999; "Cooking at Home."
One last show deserves mention: "Iron Chef," also on the Food Network is in a class all it's own. It would take me an hour to describe it here, but it's on my must-see list. Schedules at foodtv.com. Let me know what you think.
Thanks.
j.
Apr 2nd, 2001, 05:27 PM
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As an admitted Food Showaholic (my kids could easily handle the laundry, but no, I do it on the pretext that I'm the only one who can do it right, when really all I want to do is absorb "foodstuffs"), I have to say I have my favorites. I'm never very good at recalling names (I watch both the Food Channel and PBS), but the ones I really enjoy are Two Fat Ladies (reruns, of course, now that Jennifer has passed away) - not because I want to emulate their cooking but just for the sheer "bring on the streaky bacon" rash(er)ness of it; the Italian woman with the short, thin hair, who I think is brilliant; and Julia & Jacques Pépin. Emeril amused me at first, but I've heard "Bam!" too many times now to be amused. There's another wan, thin Italian guy who does rather rote recipes from all over Italy in a monotone that I watch, not for him or the recipes but for the incredible scenery they show in between kitchen shots. I can't take Bobby Flay for more than a second. I do like Mario whatever his name is - he's just so rotundly lovable, and his food is so down to earth. And I do admit to being occasionally mesmerized by the Iron Chef, though I don't think I'd ever volunteer for the tasting panel. I really miss Pierre Franey, though - he was one of my all-time favorites.
Apr 2nd, 2001, 05:40 PM
#17
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FYI: The Food Network is currently running a farewell special on Graham Kerr, of "Galloping Gourmet" fame. It's mostly old footage & has a lot of laughs.
StCirq-you're right...I forgot my beloved "Two Fat Ladies." I haven't seen them lately but I was suprisingly moved by Jeniffer's passing and tribute show. I hope the reruns continue.
j.
StCirq-you're right...I forgot my beloved "Two Fat Ladies." I haven't seen them lately but I was suprisingly moved by Jeniffer's passing and tribute show. I hope the reruns continue.
j.
Apr 2nd, 2001, 05:48 PM
#18
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Diane~ Isn't this funny when you find yourself doing this!? I laughed out loud when I saw Diane Seed's 100 ways to make risotto, "WHAAAAAAAT? I can't even do one version right!" Magically until tonight...olive oil first, sliced garlic and onion, portobella mushrooms, grains of risotto, then garlic roasted chicken stock! I was 'high fiving' myself in the kitchen and realized that NOW I'm ready for the other 99 recipes of risotto! I can just see the two of them (Pepin and Child) doing this with omelettes...of course, I've NEVER made omelettes, only scrambled eggs! Which is why I agree with you, humor and giggling can take you far!
Me~
PECK is THE BEST isn't IT? I got into trouble on an earlier post bringing in so many food products from Italy, but it WAS before the scare..and darned it, Peck's was TOO tempting...it is ALL their fault! Oh! To have one more slice of Speck! AND just the way you described te Sancerre and asparagus tarte, made me wish I'd been there to do that! I travel TOO much to do more cooking for one, but that did it..leftovers will have to be dealt with!
Jon~
Like you, I don't spend 5 minutes listening to what al dente means!!! Mario eats Italy IS very informative...focuses on the perfect way to prepare NOT ONLY specific foods but REGIONAL foods and I love learning the Italian way... Emeril DOES has mass appeal, and is doing a lot for mainstreaming cooking shows, but is not my favorite either,... but let me tell you, I taught French culture a few years back in middle school, and when we taped Emeril one week for the food segment of class (the other segments art, music, history, language, geograhy) and I saw those young kids 5th, 6th and 7th grade) cheering and yelling BAM and asking me 100 questions about why those tomatoes and what are beignets...and the best was, "I want to be a CHEF one day like him!" I thought, mainstreamed yes, inspiring all kinds of minds to create and cook.... pretty cool.
Jacques Pepin and Julia Child are classics and well, what to do without them?
I was just in the south of France 2 weeks ago and spent some time with a Michelin-starred chef... we spent an entire morning at the markets discussing all the programs on Food TV, (satellite for him) and he was MOST enthusiastic about the Iron Chef!
I REALLY hate to say that I cannot make a connection with Bobby Flay....
Me~
PECK is THE BEST isn't IT? I got into trouble on an earlier post bringing in so many food products from Italy, but it WAS before the scare..and darned it, Peck's was TOO tempting...it is ALL their fault! Oh! To have one more slice of Speck! AND just the way you described te Sancerre and asparagus tarte, made me wish I'd been there to do that! I travel TOO much to do more cooking for one, but that did it..leftovers will have to be dealt with!
Jon~
Like you, I don't spend 5 minutes listening to what al dente means!!! Mario eats Italy IS very informative...focuses on the perfect way to prepare NOT ONLY specific foods but REGIONAL foods and I love learning the Italian way... Emeril DOES has mass appeal, and is doing a lot for mainstreaming cooking shows, but is not my favorite either,... but let me tell you, I taught French culture a few years back in middle school, and when we taped Emeril one week for the food segment of class (the other segments art, music, history, language, geograhy) and I saw those young kids 5th, 6th and 7th grade) cheering and yelling BAM and asking me 100 questions about why those tomatoes and what are beignets...and the best was, "I want to be a CHEF one day like him!" I thought, mainstreamed yes, inspiring all kinds of minds to create and cook.... pretty cool.
Jacques Pepin and Julia Child are classics and well, what to do without them?
I was just in the south of France 2 weeks ago and spent some time with a Michelin-starred chef... we spent an entire morning at the markets discussing all the programs on Food TV, (satellite for him) and he was MOST enthusiastic about the Iron Chef!
I REALLY hate to say that I cannot make a connection with Bobby Flay....
Apr 2nd, 2001, 08:10 PM
#20
Guest
Posts: n/a
Wendy,
Yes, I know what you mean about leftovers. I usually cook all day Sat & Sun, trying our new recipes and ideas. There are just 2 of us, and lately my husband is crying "stop! it's all good, but I can't eat anymore!" Well, I can always take it to work I guess!
I'm glad to hear that you love Peck, too. The first time I saw those display windows I was in heaven. What incredible, beautiful food. I love this thread!
Yes, I know what you mean about leftovers. I usually cook all day Sat & Sun, trying our new recipes and ideas. There are just 2 of us, and lately my husband is crying "stop! it's all good, but I can't eat anymore!" Well, I can always take it to work I guess!
I'm glad to hear that you love Peck, too. The first time I saw those display windows I was in heaven. What incredible, beautiful food. I love this thread!
