A new project to keep me out of trouble and in the kitchen
I haven't been using this poor blog for much of anything recently. The twin scourges of Twitter and Facebook have taken over in terms of a place to post pictures and the minutiae of my life, while keeping all my friends updated in a couple of convenient places.
Lately, I've been reading some food blogs, and a couple in particular gave me the (not-so-original) idea to work through all the recipes from a single cookbook, and seeing if I can learn something new and make some tasty stuff in the process. Oh yeah, and blog about it and post pictures of the food. Some of these blogs have become huge on the internets in their own right, and have inspired books and movies. I'm not interested in that. I consider this something like an online Moleskine notebook, where I can keep my notes on where things went right, and where I went horribly wrong with a recipe. Plus my friends seem to like it when I post pictures of the food I make.
So, I'm starting with Anthony Bourdain's cookbook, Les Halles. It is actually a compilation of recipes from the restaurant where he was the executive chef for over 20 years. The recipes existed before he started working there, and no doubt will be used at Les Halles for many years to come. This is classic French Bistro food, unapologetically carnivore focused and very meat-and-potatoes oriented. My kind of food, in other words. Plus, Bourdain's profane and honest prose is educational and entertaining at the same time. And yet, I'd only made a couple of recipes out of this book in the two years I've owned it. Why? Because French food always seemed intimidating to me, and some of the recipes involve a lot of prepwork and steps, as well as some ingredients that are not easy to find. So this is my effort to get my butt in gear and get over myself.
So, I stand to benefit in many ways by keeping this blog. I can make some pretty great food, learn new techniques in the kitchen, and discover some local sources for some of the meat and other ingredients called for (which is never a bad thing). I suppose this should go without saying, but I won't post the actual recipes, because it is wrong and I don't want to get my ass kicked.
Lately, I've been reading some food blogs, and a couple in particular gave me the (not-so-original) idea to work through all the recipes from a single cookbook, and seeing if I can learn something new and make some tasty stuff in the process. Oh yeah, and blog about it and post pictures of the food. Some of these blogs have become huge on the internets in their own right, and have inspired books and movies. I'm not interested in that. I consider this something like an online Moleskine notebook, where I can keep my notes on where things went right, and where I went horribly wrong with a recipe. Plus my friends seem to like it when I post pictures of the food I make.
So, I'm starting with Anthony Bourdain's cookbook, Les Halles. It is actually a compilation of recipes from the restaurant where he was the executive chef for over 20 years. The recipes existed before he started working there, and no doubt will be used at Les Halles for many years to come. This is classic French Bistro food, unapologetically carnivore focused and very meat-and-potatoes oriented. My kind of food, in other words. Plus, Bourdain's profane and honest prose is educational and entertaining at the same time. And yet, I'd only made a couple of recipes out of this book in the two years I've owned it. Why? Because French food always seemed intimidating to me, and some of the recipes involve a lot of prepwork and steps, as well as some ingredients that are not easy to find. So this is my effort to get my butt in gear and get over myself.
So, I stand to benefit in many ways by keeping this blog. I can make some pretty great food, learn new techniques in the kitchen, and discover some local sources for some of the meat and other ingredients called for (which is never a bad thing). I suppose this should go without saying, but I won't post the actual recipes, because it is wrong and I don't want to get my ass kicked.