Culinary Arts

I have been drawn to the culinary arts for a few years now. For a while, I wasn't making any music, writing much poetry/lyrics, or doing any visual art, so I was finding that cooking was the perfect creative outlet for me. It both permitted self expression and served a functional purpose, of course.

There are certain chefs (all of whom have/had TV shows - how else would I know them?) who I respect immensely. No, I'm not referring to the typical Food Network hosts, who are just regular cooks who happen to have some sort of marketable quality, and teach people how to cook things that any idiot could have thought up... in fact, most of these hosts I have discovered on a local-ish network, NJN (which I think is affiliated with PBS).

Currently I am watching Rick Bayless's show "Mexico: One Plate At A Time." He is a connoisseur of authentic Mexican cuisine and culture (even though he's a geeky white dude). He knows his stuff so well, I am constantly impressed by him. He will not only tell you about how to make various items that you may have never known existed, but he will tell you the history behind these dishes, he can describe the nuances of every chili pepper and spice item he uses... he's awesome.

Another geeky facial-haired host who I have discovered from watching NJN is Steve Raichlen. He is an expert on grilling and barbecuing, and has two shows I've seen: "Barbecue University" and "Primal Grill." I've seen him do everything from vegetarian grilling, to barbecuing ribs with a mint rub, to slow cooking a brisket with coffee (dammit, he took my idea! or I took his?). Anyone who likes cooking with fire and coals should check his show out.

Ming Tsai is another host who I've grown immense respect for. His shows "East Meets West" and "Simply Ming" (and apparently he has one other I haven't seen) teach viewers about the art of Asian-fusion cuisine. He does some fairly unusual stuff... cooking Asian-style cuisine with tomatoes? Or parmesan cheese? Probably sounds kind of ridiculous to you, as you read this description. I would think so too. However, I've seen the episodes... I don't know how, but he seemed to really manage to pull it off! Granted, I don't have taste-o-vision, but everything looked pretty legit. Additionally, he promotes pairing not only wine with food, but beer with food as well, so of course I support that.

Despite the fact that I am certainly not a chef, nor have ever even been a cook or anything like that in a restaurant, nor have I ever even taken a culinary course, I have watched SOOOO many cooking shows and read SOOOO many recipes and came up with SOOOO many of my own recipes and culinary theories that I am considering writing my own culinary book. I will have to admit to my hypocrisy if I do so, of course, considering the fact that I tend to show some disdain for non-professionals, when I am even less of a professional than Rachael Ray (yeah, I know). Still, I think in my young years, I have gained some insight that I would like to share.

Anyway, I hope all of you reading this (all two of you) do some of your own cooking instead of going out to eat all the time or buying microwave dinners and whatnot. Supporting your local restaurants from time to time is great, but cooking for yourself is even better; more economical, more creative, more fun, and often healthier.

Wow, I can't believe I wrote all this in like five or ten minutes.

-Nick