Some Notes before we get into this too far...

I thought, shortly after my first post, that I ought to clarify some aspects of my recipes. The recipes given are not intended for people who need to be hand held throughout the cooking experience. They are for people who can let go of their phobias and let the moment dictate the outcome! Cooking is not an exacting science meant to be rigid and unforgiving. I always tell beginning cooks in my kitchens that you need to make love to your food. Those of you with dirty minds may want to go play for a moment will I clarify this. The difference between one cook and another, is the amount of love one puts into their food. Eating is far more than just a collection of ingredients measured and mixed at the right moment. Cooking is an ancient connection between the farmers, foragers and fishermen (and women!!) and the table...

“Even as an old peasant woman recognizes her god in a painted image, in a childish medal, in a chaplet, so life would speak to us in it’s humblest language in order we understand. The joy of living, I say, was summed up for me in the remembered sensation of that burning and aromatic swallow, that mixture of milk and coffee and bread by which men hold communion with tranquil pastures, exotic plantations, and golden harvests, communion with earth.”

- Antoine de Saint Exupery

A dining experience has much more to do with how you feel and your mood than what's on the plate or how fast the waiter brings your food. Think about the most memorable meals in your life. For me, they are moments shared with family... like the time I made Cioppino on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean just north of Mendocino when my cousin Andre, his family and my mom - Mishi came to visit Lisa and myself. I timed the meal to be at it's zenith when the sun was setting into the ocean with deep hues of orange, gold and purple...

“I love thee twilight! As thy shadows roll. The calm of the evening steals upon my soul, Sublimely tender, solemnly serene, Still as the hour, enchanting as the scene. I love thee, twilight! For thy gleams impart. Their dear, their dying influence to my heart.”

- Montgomery

Or, the luncheon we had with Josh Chandler and family at his winery in the Anderson Valley, California... the bounty of foods, wines and friendship. Josh raises his own pigs to make his own sausages, prosciuttos and pancettas.

Experiences like that cannot be replicated at whim... They are the culminations of the moment! No meal at Louis the XV or Troisgros can compare! What most restauranteurs forget in the equation is the most simplest thing of all... it is creating a moment in the customers visit that makes them laugh, smile and be happy. If they can accomplish that then people will come back to your restaurant.

So go to your kitchens and experiment. Pour a big glass of wine; feel devine! Turn on your favorite music... dance like no one is watching. Open your hearts and your mind. Do not be scared to try something new and different. If you don't have ramps use something else. Do not worry about exact proportions. Food is forgiving!!!

Live the LIFE you LOVE

LOVE the Life you LIVE

ASWAH