cook pot stories

I made chili tonight. Good, basic chili. And I blew it. I'm not sure what went wrong, but something in the seasoning was off, or maybe the meat was just too long in the freezer, but it was just boring. It wasn't inedible, but it wasn't the warm, comforting creation I was hoping for. I was frustrated. I've made chili tens if not hundreds of times before, used all different kinds of ingredients and never use a recipe. It's usually really good. But this time? Not so much. I kept tweaking it until finally there were enough spices to cover the blandness and we could at least eat dinner, but it wasn't what I had hoped for. At first I was embarrassed. I take pride in my cooking and consider a meal well prepared a little love letter to my friends and family. But then a friend reminded me that he knows I'm a good cook there is no endpoint in becoming a better cook, one is always learning and part of learning is sometimes failing.  The whole point is to learn ...

Yesterday was Yom Kippur , the Jewish Day of Atonement. It's a complicated Holy Day, wherein the Book of Life is written, closed and sealed - everything you did for the previous year has been recorded and your fate for the coming year is written. It's also a fast day, a full 25 hours without food and water. I admit, I drink water; exceptions can be made in case of medical need and with a history of kidney stones I'm not going to get that dehydrated. I wrote about some of my experiences this year here . At the end of this day of fasting and contemplation you break fast, entering the new year with joyful celebration. I did so last night with friends and family, a lovely meal that I spent several hours preparing. For any observant Jews reading this, yes, I know violates the admonition against work, but cooking is contemplative for me. It brought me tremendous peace knowing I was preparing a meal for those I love, an offering of life and forgiveness. This meal was prepared with...

I'm not dead. I've been blogging up a storm at my other site, truestorieshonestlies , and haven't had the chutzpah to come here too. I miss writing and thinking about food, but haven't been sure of what to say. I'm traveling now, in North Carolina far from my usual New England. My breakfast this morning was of the great American delicacies, biscuits and gravy . For those of you unfamiliar with this fine regional dish, it's sturdy white-flour biscuits covered in white gravy made out of a roux based in sausage fat. The better gravies have bits of sausage suspended in the mess and are a little spicy. It's bound to kill you if eaten too often and utterly delicious. As I was savoring every morsel this morning I got to thinking about other sturdy, regional foods I love. None are healthy, they all are rich, fatty and delicious. Cheesesteak sandwiches like those I grew up with in Philadelphia; fish tacos ; biscuits and gravy; you know the kind of foods I'm talk...

I've discovered the joys of homemade yogurt. It's remarkably easy to make and tastes better than the store bought stuff. I decided to try it after reading an article in the New York Times that I can no longer find, so I can't currently give you the link. It's simple. Scald a quart of milk. Let it cool to 115-120F. Add 2 tablespoons of yogurt with live cultures, pour it all into a warm bowl, cover and keep warm (115-120F). An oven with the light on is almost warm enough, I turned the flame on a couple of times for 15-20 seconds to keep it warm enough. In 4 hours or so you have yogurt, the byproduct of millions of bacteria breeding and digesting. That's it! It's smooth and creamy and soothing. When I made yogurt yesterday I strained it to thicken it up some as I didn't let it sit for as long as I should have. But boy, it's good. And it's one of those foods that feels as though it's good for you at the same time. I like the idea of eating cultured f...

I've been traveling quite a bit lately, which means my diet has been rather erratic. For one meal I'll have a salad or sushi while at the next I'm running to another event so I'll grab a bagel or a bag of chips. For the most part it's been fine and almost everything I've eaten I would describe as "good." But what is good food ? Does good mean nutritious? Tasty? Local? Quick? Comforting? Yes. It means all of those and more. I believe that an honest definition of good food is broad and flexible with a few ground rules. I know this isn't a groundbreaking observation but I suspect accepting this definition may give us permission to treat ourselves with necessary kindness and therefore live healthier and tastier lives. Ideally, good food is good for your body, spirit and community. It manages to sate the appetites of hunger and desire while not encouraging us to over-indulge because we're afraid that we won't be satisfied again any time soon....

A friend of mine is moving into her first apartment soon. She's full of excitement and terror, this is a big step for her. She loves cooking, so to make the leap a little easier I'm preparing two gifts. She already knows about the selection of spices I"m giving her, all pulled from my spice cabinet. The other is a surprise. I'm writing down a bunch of recipes I've cooked for her in the past, food she's loved. My mother did something similar for me when I moved out on my own and I deeply appreciated it. Noodle kugel Chicken soup Butterscotch brownines These are all foods she could find recipes for online, but they wouldn't be my recipes, not the food she's eaten when needing comfort, so it wouldn't be the same. Beef stew Roasted veggies Latkes It's odd for me, writing all of these recipes down, I've never done this before. Sure, I've jotted down notes, but most of these are foods I learned how to cook from my mother or things I figured o...

I've been blog-a-phobic lately, so haven't been posting here or on my other blog. While I could speculate endlessly about why (the blues? creative block? finger cramps?) I won't bother and will instead tell you that I made a crock pot full of ox-tail stew for dinner tonight. It strikes me as funny that many cuts of meat that used to be offal are now trendy. I used to pay maybe $1.50/lb at most for ox-tail, now I'm excited if I find it for $3.50. I did, indeed, find a sale, so took those wonderful, fatty, collagenous pieces of meat along with carrots, onion, shallots, garlic (lots and lots of garlic), celery, wine and assorted spices and let the crock pot do its thing. By the time I came home, after 8+ hours of cooking, the house smelled wonderful. I skimmed at least a half cup of fat off the stew, adjusted the spices (mostly it needed more salt and pepper, the oregano, marjoram and bay were enough, though I also added some balsamic vinegar to cut the richness a bit), le...