Fight 4 Taste

  For the last year, I have been taunted. I have lost sleep, tormented, and confused. In the words of the great Arlo Guthrie,  I was hung down, brung down, hung up, and all kinds o' mean nasty ugly things, over a decision that I made last September and October. That is, to not order a particular dish containing potatoes at my favorite Thai restaurant,  Taste the Thai and Sushi House  in Littleton, New Hampshire. Potatoes are controversial, being that they are from the Axis of Evil. For a glimpse into my turbulent past with this lifelong adversary, read  Please Don't Pass the Potatoes , from this blog from a few years ago. The first time we dined at Taste the Thai and Sushi House restaurant, we were in for something good. Sometimes, you can walk into a place and feel the satisfaction of those dining, as well as the attention to quality among the staff. This was that kind of place. They are the winners of the Best in New Hampshire Awards. We ordered the crystal du...

 A little bit of salt takes something unseen and makes it an experience. The complexities of contemporary cooking lie in the mentality of recipes, the absence of recipes, cookware, kitchen appliances, tools, and attitude. It is a little about any of the above and more about the need.  Need has brought the spice to life in the last thousand years. Once those crusaders of the sea and land got a taste of these things, they risked everything to taste once again. But even more so, the real creativity came from people having very few ingredients. Short growing seasons, famine, wars, and scarcity of ingredients forced people to make what was known as poor people's food. From these, culinarily significant dishes were born. Nothing has taken food to a higher level than the so-called "lower decks." Wouldn't it be fun to take a journey, trying and making these foods that have shaped the culinary world? Braising of tough meats, brining of poultry that would otherwise present dry...

   Someone has filled my freezers. That person is me. They are full enough for me to rearrange the contents to fit something new. Something is amiss. I am not shopping more, not hitting great sales, and have not changed my shopping habits. That can only mean one thing. I must not be cooking enough. So what is going on? Winter depression is all around like an unwanted, persistent weather pattern. I remember a time like this a few years ago. I cannot recall how I broke free from its gravity well. My ambition requires a jumpstart, and my motivation has flown south for the bitter winter season. I feel I am left with nothing, like Henry Bemis in the Twilight Zone episode Time Enough at Last. Socially awkward, Henry could not deal with people in any way whatsoever. His only refuge was found between the pages of a book. It was his special place. A catastrophic event takes the lives of every other person on the planet, yet Henry is spared. As he wanders around a post-apocalyptic city,...

   As I look to the year ahead, I think of the weather. The snowy days ahead, the mud season tease, the awakening of the impossible spring, summer heat, mosquitos, cicadas, autumn that seemed to take 90 years or 90 minutes to arrive, and finally, the terror threat of November into December. I ask myself: Culinarily, what do I wish to achieve during this year? The only thing I could say to sum up the entire composite is that the underlying theme of flavors in my rock opera of cooking would be "maximum impact with minimum effort." In case, throughout my rambling ranting, I have not made this absolutely clear: this is what Fight4Taste is all about. I look back at the tattered calendar of the last year; some plans are memories, and some memories never materialize. You win some, you lose some. Three dear friends went down with the ship, and there was nothing I could do.  As I contemplated being practical, I found myself in the sand, digging for treasure that I already knew was...

  What is all the fuss about?   Well, I finally did it. I finally ordered the McRib sandwich at McDonalds this week. That is ironic because as a lifelong patron of Mc D's and my love for meat, especially pork, I would likely have had this experience already. After all, the Mc Rib was first introduced to the McDonald's dining world in 1982. I was 17 years old, for goodness sake! It was a time when the health impact of what I ate was never a factor I considered. Prime time to take the plunge if you ask me. The Google AI Overview states that the Mc Rib sandwich is made of a boneless pork patty shaped like a rack of ribs, barbecue sauce, onions, and pickles on a toasted bun. The patty is made from ground pork shoulder, water, salt, dextrose, and rosemary extract. I could tell the pork was pork shoulder merely by the fat-to-meat ratio. It might also be precooked under pressure, adding to its tenderness. I liked the onions on it because I like raw onions on sandwiches, whether ...

 As a novice food creator, I have met people who do what I do to one degree. There is a comforting humility that I can identify with. I think of them as so much more than I am. I am startled when I realize that they think of me in some ways the same, in the context of each owning our particular strengths. It is then that gaining friendships like these is very important. We need each other, and the world needs our collaboration. We all carry a piece of the story. Commercial merry-go-rounds have nothing on us. It is learning about them through the food they create and the goals they wish to obtain. I agree that we all need those willing to go one hundred thousand dollars or more in debt to throw the dice loaded in opposition to their success to start a delicious food business. Without their bravery, people like us could never have become self-aware of our creativity. We are a community, past, present, and future. We support one another. It is a language and something that must be ear...

   I need to create classic recipes. It is the avalanche in me that cannot be stopped. I love seafood. I make excellent mussels. Sweet vermouth, PEI mussels, cream, portabello mushrooms, shallots, garlic, cilantro, bacon. Maybe a Thai chili or two if I want to cook on the wild side.  My oh my! But now, I NEEEEEEEED to make a lobster thermidor, a favorite back in1960s-70s entertaining. The food from those old black-tie dinner party meals is rising into view once again. I know there can be wild spins on what we can do with a meal that Julia Child championed us out of our collective trepidation. 60 years later we are tampering with the maverick. But take your rest here for a moment to cook at the station of that wonderful woman who brought the housewives out of the dark ages, showing us all that family dinner had no limits. Even more so, Julia showed us that ambition and creativity were not owned by men alone. She like my grandmother, did so in a world that said otherwise. B...