I Love Food

I love cooking food, picking out food, watching people make food, watching people eat food, listening to food, listening to people talk about food, reading about food, writing about food, smelling food, tasting food, and eating food.

I am always surprised at how good the food I make generally comes out. And this isn't a self-call - I'm not saying I'm some sort of fantastic amateur chef (this may or may not be true) - I'm just legitimately amazed at how often the stuff I cook tastes great. Whether I'm cooking something for the first time or attempting to perfect one of my signature dishes, I generally have quite satisfactory results. This leads me to believe there a few possible reasons for this:

1. My taste buds are inevitably positively influenced by the most important ingredient in my kitchen, vino rosso.
2. Cooking ain't that hard.
3. I'm awesome.
4. All of the above.

I also often find it a bit surprising how many people are of the "I don't cook" school of thought. It's really too bad. Granted, it takes some free time, some passion, and the ability to operate a stove, but the rewards are, to me, very much worth it. For me, cooking is enjoyable, an adventure, a bit of a creative outlet (I rarely stick to a recipe word for word and like to experiment), and in general a cost-effective way to sustain oneself with energy that is for the most part tastier and healthier than that prepackaged crap.

Plus - and this goes for my not-too-shabby bartending skills as well - everyone loves the chef, right? Assuming he doesn't burn the tête de veau?

Tonight I made some red wine risotto, following this recipe more or less. A good one. Came out delectable - probably the best risotto I've ever made, and I've made my fair share. I accompanied it with some sautéed chicken - some olive oil, butter, S&P, and this sun dried tomato spice mix that I had on hand.

This reminds me, going back to a conversation Pickin' Baines Johnston and I were having at Pickin' Tuesday a couple weeks back: last winter we had a fair amount of weekend dinners, and I think we need to get the proverbial bolus rolling once more. I'm talking some pizza pies, some chicken tikka masala, and some braciole made like they do in the Old Country. Madonn'!