Philosophy

Strip Down:

I’m constantly surrounded by beautiful people who love to strip.  But they don’t just run in and take it off as fast as they can.  It’s a tease – a slow, tantalizing removal of their costumes.  This should also be your approach to food.  Get Naked!

Life is a marathon, not a sprint.  Stop just shoving whatever is available right this fucking second into your face and think for a minute.  Know what’s in your food.  Take the time to slice a damn onion.  You don’t have to go all minimalist, fat-free, no-butter, vega-prehistoric or whatever.  You can have your mayonnaise.  You can drink your whiskey.  Trust me, high fructose corn syrup is NOT the same as sugar (which you probably don’t need that much either).  Learn to season correctly and you’ll soon detest the manufactured flavor of packaged convenience.  Go back as far as you can to actual ingredients.  Make a ritual out of food.  And for Pete’s sake, eat a damn vegetable now and again.  It is possible to burn calories while you prepare food.  Seriously.  Slow the fuck down.  Have I made myself clear?

Why I don’t like to measure:

The main reason I don’t like to measure is that you never see Gordon Ramsey do it.  I’m kidding, but not really.  Measuring is for sissies.  It might take you a couple two/tree times to get a recipe right but that’s half the fun.  Learn what you like and balance it accordingly.  These recipes are not about molecular gastronomy.  We don’t need NASA-precise instructions.  It’s a ritual.  If you like garlic, put some damn garlic in there.  If I told you to put 1.37 cloves of garlic and then your particular taste buds didn’t register it, you’d be pissed – probably at me.  So freehand it, paint outside the lines.  Get to know your own taste buds and season accordingly.

Also, sometimes I cook for just the two of us and sometimes for a veritable batallion of bawdy broads.  And just knowing how to “double the recipe” doesn’t work.  It’s a finesse thing.  Some spices act different at different quantities.  {EXCEPTION: anything with a “batter” or a “dough”, which is baking – and I don’t bake much.  It’s like alchemy to me.  Mystical.  I typically leave that up to mL’ since she’s so voodoo).

So, I’ll tell you what’s in it.  It’s up to you to figure out how much.