Edward Behr's 5 Essentials for Delicious, Sensual Home Cooking
1. You really have to enjoy the physical process of cooking. "Some
people come home from work and find it very relaxing to prepare a meal
at the end of the day. But despite all the badgering from good folks
such as Mark Bittman, many people find that cooking is a lot of work.
They don't find pleasure in it. The people who do enjoy it, often what
they're reacting to, what they're responding to, is the physical
pleasure of cooking, the pleasure found in cutting vegetables neatly
with a sharp knife or the sound of sautéing or taking a little taste of
delicious olive oil. The pleasure in the physical, in the sensual, is so
critical if you're going to enjoy cooking. If the only thing you're
thinking is that you have to be done by 7:30 or that you don't want to
wash the dishes afterwards or stressing out about everyone's food
allergies, then it's just not going to be an enjoyable experience."
What encourages people who aren't naturally inclined to enjoy
cooking? What about the beginner who isn't yet comfortable in the
kitchen? "You have to remember not to think of it primarily as work.
Think of it primarily as a form of sensuality. Be sure you have a few
ingredients you really love on hand (see number 3 below). It can be
anything that really brings you pleasure, from a really good olive oil
or a beautiful piece of meat that you only cook once a week to a great
glass of wine. You may have to take a leap of confidence at first. A
great place to start is with something that's simple but uses great
ingredients and cook them simply. Begin modestly with things you're sure
of and you'll build the confidence you need."
2. You really have to love to eat, and it helps to love to feed other people."People
love to eat. Some may have forgotten that but still, deep down, people
love to eat. Really good foods can give a deep sense of satisfaction and
help you to not eat quite as much. Stuff like fast food only encourages
us to overeat because its never quite satisfying. Feeding other people
can be hard and complicated sometimes. People don't like to eat certain
things and it can seem challenging. I have two sons and one loves to eat
fish, for instance, and the other just can't get past the fishiness of
fish. But he loves rillettes! So you can always find something that
people love and that will make them happy."
3. You need at least a few ingredients that give you special pleasure. "Be
sure to stock your kitchen with things that are very fresh or
appropriately aged, or very well produced, or simply something you
really like. They could be beautiful carrots from a farm stand, a great
Parmigiano Reggiano, some delicious olive oil, or a pint of wild
blueberries that a friend picked and gave you."
4. You need at least one or two pieces of equipment that you really enjoy. "Or
things make your work easier and the results better. A dull knife is
misery. Still, except perhaps for that knife, you can cook great food
with really bad equipment. Before we got our current stove, we were down
to two burners on a cheap old electric stove. You could heat a frying
pan plenty hot enough for a steak, if you were willing to wait and then
add the meat. But it doesn't have to be a sharp knife, it could be your
brand new food processor. Or things that mean something special: I have
my mother's yellow pyrex mixing bowl as well as her mother's bowl, one
of those cream earthenware with a stripe. Or maybe try an old cast iron
frying pan (the vintage ones are better)."
5. You have to trust your own palate. "Maybe you
still have a lot to learn, but your palate is the most important tool
you have. This may be a leap of faith for some people, but if you don't
go by your own palate, you're just lost. You just have to be yourself
and that's your anchor, that's your foundation. Your tastes will evolve
and change and maybe even become more sophisticated but you have to jump
in somewhere. You have to just leap in and do it and not worry about
someone else's palate."
(Images: Natalie Stultz)
Original Article Here: http://www.thekitchn.com/edward-behrs-5-essentials-for-delicious-sensual-home-cooking-expert-essentials-196379
0comments:
Post a Comment