I geek out over learning and improving and perfecting popular dishes. I also have a thing for collecting cookbooks. I have the classics that everyone should have in their kitchen, and I have beautiful, huge cookbooks with specific dishes by region, photographed stunningly. But I don’t stop there… I collect all kinds of cookbooks. I like really old cookbooks and imagining what I would cook if I had the type of kitchen people had a hundred years ago. I love highly-specific cookbooks – I even have a Spam cookbook (from Hawaii of course), and a 50-year-old Campbell’s Soup Cookbook. I love magazines or cookbooks that feature old fad foods that aren't so popular anymore. Simply put, they are fascinating, and sometimes you can find an old dish that has gone out of style and find that it’s actually pretty great!
I’m a sucker for a brilliantly made All-American classic. New fusion cuisines can be awesome, but sometimes I just want the absolute best macaroni and cheese. Who doesn't love simple comfort food?
From classic breakfasts to holiday specialties, to simpler week night dishes, I’ve been happily serving up the best foods I’ve learned to cook with what I’ve had available to me in Southern California, and for a time, Hawaii. I love to use authentic recipes when I can, but I'm not afraid to admit when a new twist on something or an Americanized version is pretty darn good, too. Taste is king in my house. When I can, I cut down fat from certain dishes, but only if I can get away with it and the flavor and texture aren't compromised. There are certain cases where I never cut back on the fat because the final product just wouldn’t measure up. The same goes for convenience. If a newer technological method saves time and effort and doesn’t compromise the taste and texture of a dish, I’m all for it, and chances are I want to save time just as much as you do. But, if I know something is going to be unforgivably inferior just for the sake of shaving off a few minutes, I would rather take the effort to do it right the first time.
There have been many times when I’ve shared recipes with friends of mine who love cooking as much as I do. There have also been many times when friends have asked me how I make something, or ask how to do something they haven’t figured out yet. I’m going to try to break down each recipe so that both beginners and kitchen nerds can have a crack at it and fully understand how to make a dish. It’s way easier than some people think – it’s just food, don’t be scared to mess up! That’s how you get better.
On secret recipes – I’m not the kind of person to hoard a cooking secret! I have never understood the point of a secret recipe! Even to differentiate a recipe from others, there’s still the basic fact that people would rather have someone else who knows what they’re doing cook for them a lot of the time. But if someone wants to have a go at it, let them! It doesn’t detract from the awesome stuff I’m making. I am more than happy to share everything I know with anyone willing to listen and give it a try. So I won’t be hoarding any secret recipes or withholding one crucial ingredient. This is a full-disclosure cooking blog! If someone is helped by what I share then I’m happy to hear it.
Over the course of the fall season I’m going to be doing a lot of cooking, so I thought I would finally document my favorite recipes and my cooking processes. I’m new at this, so please bear with me while I try to make this blog look organized for easy searching. And for now, my photos are just from my iPhone! Thanks for reading my stuff, and happy cooking, kitchen nerds!
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