The Occasional Foodie

I have been thinking recently—most notably after I watched Julie & Julia, that I have some cooking skills that I could share with people.
The reason that Julia Child was so revered is that she brought classic French techniques to the United States, many of which entered into the mainstream world of cooking—the cooking that was being done by everyone’s parents and grandparents back in the 50s and 60s. Something has happened since, however. Cooking in the home is starting to diminish. What was once a nightly occurrence has turned into a weekly ritual at best in many households. It’s a shame that after all the effort that Julia Child had taken, we forget her most valuable lesson: love the food you eat.
Not only did Julia Child prove to us all that the art of cooking is important, but she also proved that anyone could do it. She barely knew how to mince veggies when she began and now almost everyone is familiar with her accomplishments.

So I would like to take her message and begin to spread it once again. We are at the dawn of a new age of cuisine. It seems that there is a new generation of aspiring young gourmands who fancy themselves “foodies.“ As I understand it, a foodie is someone who takes pleasure in exploring taste combinations that they’ve never tried before. They are like the Christopher Columbus of the food world. But let me take this metaphor further—though Columbus ”discovered“ the new world, it doesn’t mean that it wasn’t there before. Like Columbus, foodies pride themselves on personal discovery. It doesn’t mean that people haven’t been eating these foods for generations, but that the foodie is discovering new dishes.
Another aspect cuisine on which the foodie prides himself is quality ingredients. This means different things to different people. Some people want only to explore ingredients that are unfamiliar to them—only recently did I discover the wonders of goat cheeses. Others want to try the best goat cheeses that farmers and artisans have to offer. The point is this: to be a foodie, one must explore within self-imposed boundaries. Perhaps you want to learn how to make the best balsamic vinaigrette, perhaps you would simply like to learn how to bake a cake from scratch—if it’s interesting to you, go for it!

Lastly, start from the bottom and work your way up. Understand the foods that you are working with. One must know what their ingredients are capable of before they can master cooking. Simply understanding simple concepts can help someone be well on the way to becoming a gourmand. It wouldn’t hurt to understand some of the things that Julia spoke of in her book Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The French are pioneers in the world of cuisine and understanding simple concepts of French cooking can take your endeavors to another level.
I plan to offer a few of these concepts on my blog occasionally. They will be simple concepts that you can form to your own needs and perhaps I will even throw in a few recipes myself. I hope you enjoy. Remember, there is nothing to be afraid of when it comes to cooking—anyone can do it.