Food Blogs

 

So you guys, I know it's a running joke "I don't want to know your full life story, just SHOW ME THE DAMN RECIPE!" I am completely on board with that notion. In fact, that's why I am creating this post. I think a lot of food bloggers make things waaaay to difficult. Even the recipe is just.....so.....detailed. Dear Lord, do we really need to know each and every seasoning that went into this recipe? I find myself looking up suggestions for "good, healthy food" often. I laugh inside a little when I see a 1/2 teaspoon of salt listed as an ingredient. I mean... c'mon, if you don't know you need to add salt to something....well i don't really know what to tell you.

I am by no means an expert on food. I spent a year in a culinary arts management program. It's actually a really good program and taught me a lot. I am proud of the knowledge I gained through the year that I spent there. 

You will soon realize, that I am full of passions that weren't quite fully realized as a career path for me. My intention in entering the program was never really to become a "Chef". I just simply knew that I had a passion for the restaurant industry as a whole and this would allow me to hone in on that passion, if only briefly.

I learned to butcher a fillet, truss a chicken(believe it or not, there is a correct way and it aint easy) I learned all the sauces and how to create them, I learned how to make the perfect roux for the perfect recipe. I learned how to make a damn good rice pilaf. I learned important culinary terms that were once foreign to me like "nappe"-the correct consistency of a sauce. You can check this by dipping a spoon into your sauce and lifting it out and allowing it to drip. If it slightly coats the spoon upon you taking it out of the sauce, you have reached the correct consistency! The more ya know! Right? I learned that knife skills are actually really important in the final taste of your dish and spent ungodly amounts of time practicing. Literally cutting potatoes, carrots, etc. and then placing my cuts on my text book to compare in preparation for a test. There is a such thing as a Large Dice, Medium Dice, and Small Dice, and they are all particular sizes, literally. This is a huge deal in the culinary world, and the ability to achieve these knife cuts can make or break a chef. Watch an episode of "Chopped" and you will see them mention knife skills often. It's so basic, but only people who are actually trained can do it and understand its importance. So if the knife skills are bad, the chef is probably a fraud. Amiright ICAG?

Like i said, I am extremely grateful for all of these skills, and I'm sure I use them without fully realizing it every time I cook, kind of like riding a bike. It's a skill that just comes naturally when you know how to do it. So maybe my thoughts on food blogs are a little unfair. My main reason for this post is to point out the legitimately unnecessary ingredient measurements found in many of these recipes, not to discredit other very necessary information that might not be so obvious if you didn't spend a year in culinary school.  I want those of you who might read this to realize that you actually don't need to measure your seasonings, or your oils to coat the pans that you are cooking with, and you absolutely do not need to have each and every ingredient on hand to make a delicious meal. Things can be swapped out or taken off the recipe completely if it doesn't constitute a super important flavor profile. Just taste your food!! Taste, taste, and taste again! Every step of your recipe should be seasoned. When you are sauteing that mirepoix (literally onion, carrots, and celery, small diced). Season that ish. If you add in some protein afterwards season again, and if you add in a liquid (like broth, or milk, or cream) taste first and then...you guessed it, season again if it tastes like you should, trust me you will know! I dont know how many teaspoons or tablespoons I add, just make the food taste good! DONT ADD TOO MUCH SALT!!! I do this constantly, its really been my downfall.😒 Just be careful with it and don't be scared! Just do it with confidence. If you are baking ignore everything I just said and make sure everything is measured exactly. If the recipe mentions the ideal weather and atmospheric pressure to be cooking that particular sweet treat, then LISTEN to the recipe!!! I have made that mistake one too many times and have thrown out plenty of pie crusts because I just didn't listen. Baking and savory cooking ARE NOT THE SAME! One is like abstract painting, and one is like chemistry. It just is. Still an art, but a very different approach! Maybe I will post about the ideal seasonings to use for the ideal flavor pallet one is trying to reach? But for the love of all things, please stop measuring your seasonings and your oils, and even your broths for that matter!!! Just taste it out!