Savoring Life: Passions from Pages to Palates

"I've long believed that good food, good eating, is all about risk. Whether we're talking about unpasteurized Stilton, raw oysters or working for organized crime 'associates,' food, for me, has always been an adventure." ~~ Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly  by Anthony Bourdain Anthony Bourdain is by far my favorite chef. I can never put my finger on the one characteristic about him that makes me revere him in such a way. It could be his passion about food, or the lush language he uses when he writes about food. But more than likely, it is the way in which he reminds me of my Dad, another foody who ran two high-end restaurants while I was growing up. When I read Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential , I found myself relating to his tales of restaurant life--the pressures of a slammed Saturday night to the varied human dynamics taking place among the employees--and I could associate the people Bourdain discussed with real-life peopl...

"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." ~ The Hobbit  by J. R. R. Tolkien It seems fitting to begin my blog with a post about food, particularly food associated with my childhood. Today, after planting four fruit trees, weeding a flower bed, and staining a patio table and chairs, I prepared Paprikas Chicken for my family. The boys were ecstatic, and it reminded me of the joy I felt as a kid when I knew we were going to visit Great-Grandma Rosie in Dowell, Illinois. That joy was not only about the fact that I was lucky enough to spend time with Rosie, but it was also about the sense memories from her kitchen that would come flooding into my very being. I can still smell that kitchen, see the linoleum on the floor, hear her voice as she asked, "Do you want more noodle soup?"  My passion for cooking comes from many places, but the kitchen of Great-Grandma Rosie is one I always find myself going back to again an...