Gourmet Food
Jun. 1st, 2006 05:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ellyssianAt the cookout Monday, several people who've known me for several years or more expressed surprise - "quite the chef" or something like that, I overheard, while the chorizo quesadillas made their way through the line - one on the plate, one in the pan, and one getting prepped; soon the one on the plate was swept away, cut, and served by Justin, while another would follow...
Yes, I have been getting more interested in cooking (again,) but it's not really a new interest. For at least eight or nine years, I've been toying off and on with a menu for a restaurant; these days, I just add to it when I come up with something. Steak tips might have - arguably - been the first; but there are a large number which I came up with long before moving to Pennsylvania.
It's the stealth mode I operate in, you see. I joke that Burger King is gourmet food, but in some ways, despite all of its fast foodishness, it is.
You see, instead of defining "gourmet" as "small servings" or "large price tag" or even plain ol' "fancy," I know that "gourmet" is (well, for one, a noun and not an adjective, so it's really a misuse from the beginning) "A connoisseur of fine food and drink." Now, while "fine" itself can mean a number things that coul be construed as implying some hoity-toity meanings, such as "Of superior quality, skill, or appearance" or "Characterized by refinement or elegance" or even "Consisting of very small particles" - that latter one is certainly evident in certain styles of fancier-than-thou dining - the one definition I latch on to is "Satisfactory."
Food that satisfies me, pleases me. It is fine food, whether it cost $5 or $500 a meal. I'm not literally eating the money, so large portions there don't necessarily translate to a satisfying dining experience, just an empty wallet.
I have a reputation amongst people at work that I always order a bacon cheeseburger - they'll even look over the menu at a new place and say, "Hey, they have the Everett burger..." I figure if a place can screw up something *that* simple, they obviously aren't putting the care and love into their food that they should be, and chances are that any other items are going to be handled with the same lack of skill or interest or execution. Some places, I'll try other things, but generally I don't.
For instance, there are a small number of restaurants near me. The two closest ones got a second shot after failing the burger test miserably and just-below-averagely. The former place failed at fish n' chips, and I've never eaten anything from there again. The latter place pulled off some great ribs, so they get repeat business. Two other places a bit further away met with complete success and utter failure - I have yet to go back to the latter, and I did try something much more upscale at the former place. Turns out they make damn good burgers, but I won't stray from that path again.
I tend to work that way in other aspects as well: I have a core of things I'll make, and I expand them slowly. Some people may disagree, and bring up the frasadillas as exotic extensions beyond normal comprehension, but really, that was just a slow, gradual change of things I liked - bacon, maple syrup; cheese, quesadillas - added together with the added brand-new element of sassafras. While it's not an ingredient you'll find in most restaurants, it's just one little thing added in.
What I don't do well is when I hear "Hey, try this..." with something I've never had before. My first instinct is "no." What I do good with is reading about something, or hearing about it. After a while it gets me interested. "You should try the..." is going to fail flatly, while "You know, I had blahblah the other day, and I really liked it because..." or "Blah-blah tastes like..." or even a bit about how something is made.
That certainly doesn't help the image that I'm not likely to be an adventurous chef, because for most, adventurous is a word associated with a bungee-jumping, free-falling, just-do-it kind of instant, rapid, action. Again, I'm aiming for satisfaction, not a quick thrill that might leave you so fast you have whiplash and a bad taste in your mouth.
Of course, when people at work see me order these days, it's quite a different matter than it was three years ago or more, when most of them formed those opinions. The bacon cheeseburger isn't the healthiest choice, and there's always a fair amount of surprise when I go for a salad, fish, or chicken dish instead. Or, if I've already found something exceptional at a particular place, I'll go with that.
And there's even more surprise when I'm doing the cooking.
I'm not out to make things overly fancy, I just want them to be satisfying. If they alleviate your hunger and please your taste buds, then they've satisfied, and that's all I'm looking for.
Yes, I have been getting more interested in cooking (again,) but it's not really a new interest. For at least eight or nine years, I've been toying off and on with a menu for a restaurant; these days, I just add to it when I come up with something. Steak tips might have - arguably - been the first; but there are a large number which I came up with long before moving to Pennsylvania.
It's the stealth mode I operate in, you see. I joke that Burger King is gourmet food, but in some ways, despite all of its fast foodishness, it is.
You see, instead of defining "gourmet" as "small servings" or "large price tag" or even plain ol' "fancy," I know that "gourmet" is (well, for one, a noun and not an adjective, so it's really a misuse from the beginning) "A connoisseur of fine food and drink." Now, while "fine" itself can mean a number things that coul be construed as implying some hoity-toity meanings, such as "Of superior quality, skill, or appearance" or "Characterized by refinement or elegance" or even "Consisting of very small particles" - that latter one is certainly evident in certain styles of fancier-than-thou dining - the one definition I latch on to is "Satisfactory."
Food that satisfies me, pleases me. It is fine food, whether it cost $5 or $500 a meal. I'm not literally eating the money, so large portions there don't necessarily translate to a satisfying dining experience, just an empty wallet.
I have a reputation amongst people at work that I always order a bacon cheeseburger - they'll even look over the menu at a new place and say, "Hey, they have the Everett burger..." I figure if a place can screw up something *that* simple, they obviously aren't putting the care and love into their food that they should be, and chances are that any other items are going to be handled with the same lack of skill or interest or execution. Some places, I'll try other things, but generally I don't.
For instance, there are a small number of restaurants near me. The two closest ones got a second shot after failing the burger test miserably and just-below-averagely. The former place failed at fish n' chips, and I've never eaten anything from there again. The latter place pulled off some great ribs, so they get repeat business. Two other places a bit further away met with complete success and utter failure - I have yet to go back to the latter, and I did try something much more upscale at the former place. Turns out they make damn good burgers, but I won't stray from that path again.
I tend to work that way in other aspects as well: I have a core of things I'll make, and I expand them slowly. Some people may disagree, and bring up the frasadillas as exotic extensions beyond normal comprehension, but really, that was just a slow, gradual change of things I liked - bacon, maple syrup; cheese, quesadillas - added together with the added brand-new element of sassafras. While it's not an ingredient you'll find in most restaurants, it's just one little thing added in.
What I don't do well is when I hear "Hey, try this..." with something I've never had before. My first instinct is "no." What I do good with is reading about something, or hearing about it. After a while it gets me interested. "You should try the..." is going to fail flatly, while "You know, I had blahblah the other day, and I really liked it because..." or "Blah-blah tastes like..." or even a bit about how something is made.
That certainly doesn't help the image that I'm not likely to be an adventurous chef, because for most, adventurous is a word associated with a bungee-jumping, free-falling, just-do-it kind of instant, rapid, action. Again, I'm aiming for satisfaction, not a quick thrill that might leave you so fast you have whiplash and a bad taste in your mouth.
Of course, when people at work see me order these days, it's quite a different matter than it was three years ago or more, when most of them formed those opinions. The bacon cheeseburger isn't the healthiest choice, and there's always a fair amount of surprise when I go for a salad, fish, or chicken dish instead. Or, if I've already found something exceptional at a particular place, I'll go with that.
And there's even more surprise when I'm doing the cooking.
I'm not out to make things overly fancy, I just want them to be satisfying. If they alleviate your hunger and please your taste buds, then they've satisfied, and that's all I'm looking for.
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Date: 2006-06-01 10:33 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-06-02 01:07 am (UTC)