How To Fall In Love With Cooking….

I don’t watch much TV. We don’t own one, it broke a few years ago, and we decided we would rather spend money and time on things we can use our brain on. Don’t get me wrong, we still binge watch something on the computer every once and a while, but for the most part we don’t get a lot of movie watching done.

My brother in law suggested the documentary “Jiro Dreams Of Sushi” to me. Luckily it was on Netflix.

This movie… makes you want to be better. It’s a good two hour look at a man who has given everything to be his personal best. If you watch the whole thing, and don’t feel inadaqute at what you do for work or passion, you didn’t really watch close enough.

Jiro’s tradition and lifestyle comes from a different world. It’s a valuable lesson in wordly knowledge, and to become a shokunin is defeintely not for everyone, if it were easy, there would be masters of every discipline at easy reach,

The thing that really gets me though, is Jiro loves to make sushi. He never hated his job and he would rather do that than anything else. He takes comfort in the strict standards he set for himself, and his work has paid off both in terms of success and passing his legacy to his sons.

Growing up in South Texas, no one has ever made me work my way up to egg sushi. Learning to cook was something I picked up on my own, making my journey very different but the joy of cooking holds up.

When I cook, it’s almost a different feeling than the obession that Jiro has, for me it’s a chance to get away from everything else. It’s sort of theraputic. There is also the freedom of abandonment that I will never be a world class master chef.

This doesn’t mean that I don’t care about what I make however. It’s not an excuse to make shitty food or not care what I am serving. The concept of constant improvement and striving to be better everytime definitely holds true. Unlike many world class chefs though, myself and many of the artists and musicians who share their recipes on this site don’t have the option to go to a fish market everyday and spend money and time on dishes and ingredients. While fresh and expensive ingredients go a long way, there is definitely more to it than discipline and money.

I started this blog to share recipes with the concept that anyone can cook. I believe it. There are all different levels of it. You can start by boiling water and go from there. That’s the key to striving to be better. Always try new things. It doesn’t matter if it’s learning how to chop vegetables by hand, sharpening your knives or improving your barbecue or baking skills when the seasons change. It’s perfectly ok to start making meals with the aid of dried seasonings and pre packaged indredients and working your way up to fresh made from scratch dishes. The key is to get in there are crank up the stove.

Jiro may make the best sushi in the world, but when it comes to things like Mexican food, I’ve tasted it from the best grandmas in the world. I think back to my own grandmother in a tiny warm kitchen, the clanging of pots and pans with those wonderful mouth watering smells. The chaos of a big poor family gathering under a tiny roof to eat homeade toritillas and any sort of taco she made is about as far away as you can get from the traditional Japenese craftsmanship that is portrayed in this movie, but the end result is just the same.

And that’s just it isnt’ it?

Cooking is a journey. There are different roads to take to greatness but the end the same if you are true to yourself. In the end, a clean kitchen, aspiring to improve yourself, patience in the things you aren’t good at, stubborness to make yourself better at those things, and a passion for cooking are going to be what pushes you no matter what your background is.

HOW TO- Tell the Difference Between Ground Meats.

Often during a recipe I post, I will include an ingredient that I will just label “ground meat”.

Its very broad, since if you are new to cooking, and for some reason dared to follow one of these recipes it may have left you scratching your head. Truth be told, I leave the selection entirely up to you for a reason…

When I was on my own for the first time, just some kid working two minimum wage jobs and playing gigs in various hole in the wall bars, I was pretty much broke. So I learned to just go for the cheapest meat. In my younger days as long as I was eating meat that wasn’t coming from a can, I was gold. But I understand that some of you our there may not have that much sense of adventure, so let’s take a look at some ground meat choices and what they mean to you.

Ground Beef and Hamburger Meat- This is almost the same thing. It’s pretty much made up of various parts of the rest of the primal cuts of beef. Some people will tell you this is the “scrap” or leftovers from the butcher, but let’s be honest. We’ve been grilling hamburgers for a pretty long time now, the idea that you are eating “scraps” is a perception that I personally choose not to cling to. Especially since I have always been on a budget. If you respect your food, nothing is “scrap”.

Now ground beef and hamburger are basically the same thing except that beef cannot have extra fat added to it but hamburger (being the eternal party animal) can have added fat up to 30%.  Don’t let today’s magazine headlines and diet pill commercials fool you, the fat content and leaness of your meat come in handy depending on how you use it. When you understand the concept of food, ingredients, and all that jazz, you take a step into larger worlds. Trust me, there are many uses for cheap fatty meats

Ground Round and Ground Chuck- If the package is labeled round or chuck, it comes from a specific part of the animal and is not a rolling stone like ground beef is. Round comes from behind the back leg, near the tail. Chuck comes from the other end of the cow, the shoulder near the head. Ground chuck is fatty, it’s juicy, and pretty much everything you ever wanted in a ground meat for a hamburger. Ground round however is NOT a good choice for hamburgers (not to say it’s not good for other things) It dries out if you cook it above medium rare, and you’ll want to do that to kill bacteria.

Ground Sirloin- Sirloin comes from the sirloin area more famously known for steaks. Personally I think that’s where it should remain. It’s more expensive than the other ground meats, and it dries out easily. So not a good choice when it comes to burgers.

Ground Pork- I use ground pork A LOT. In all the recipes of ground meat I have made on this blog so far, I have used ground pork. It’s not great for hamburgers, but it is great when skillet or pan meals, casseroles, spaghetti sauce or meatballs call for it. Basically a lot of the easy starter meals I have displayed on here, pork is great for. It’s not beef (duh) it cooks lighter, but it holds seasoning well, I personally think it has a great taste and when used as a filler meat with everything to chalupas to sloppy joes I love it.

How To- “Season To Taste”

Every once in a while, in the recpies written on the site, you may see the term “season to taste” written down.

In it’s simplest form, it literally means to season till you like it, but in a more palete pleasing way it can really change the personality of the dish.

When I first started cooking, I was a smoker (cigarettes) it totally killed my taste buds at the time, thus causing me to really pile on massive amounts of spices often leading to a salty dish which I barely noticed.

As time went on, I smoked less cigarettes and moved on to fine hand rolled cigars (which has actually improved my sense of taste since I look for the hints of different aroma and tastes that accomodate different fillers of fine hand rolled cigars and pipes) When my sense of taste started to return, I noticed how overly saturated my dishes were and I hadn’t noticed.

Taste buds are a great thing. As a large man, I will always have an appetitie, but as a cook, I love my sense of taste. Plus… I love cigars now so there’s that.

When you are adding spices to your dish, first you’ll want to consider the food you are making. Is it already salty or spicy? Are you trying to add more spice to it or change the taste? Making something less seasoned is harder than adding to it. (Most cases you would have to dilute it if even possible) Your best bet is to start bland and then add a little at a time until you reach your desired level of taste.

Most of the time, it is best to add your seasoning at the beggining of the dish (which is why most recpies posted already list a measurement so the guesswork is taken out for you) this lets the seasoning cook with the meal and spread throughout.

When adding at the end of the meal, it’s usually best to have a taste before you serve it. Drink some water before you do so or something to clean your palate and have a good neutral base. When you taste it, really step back and ask if the dish tastes good as is. If it does, your gold. If it doesn’t add what you need. If you’re not sure, it might be best to not add anything, because it’s easier to add than take away.

Consider what you are serving with your food. If your dish is more seasoned but you are serving it with a neutral or more bland side or bread, it will balance out. Also remember that temperature can change the taste as well (cooler food leads to less seasoned saturation). If you are still not sure when you are serving other people, it’s ok to ask another person for a second opinion.

All in all, it’s not hard to do. It takes a little practice but it’s also fun challenging your taste buds and making combinations to try different things. The net is full of combo charts and tips so I highly suggest trying there, however if you want my opinion, I prefer to try things out myself.