“I Want to Be a Cooker”

“Yup thats me. You’re probably wondering how I got here.”

Alright, I’m not going to be doing an entire deep dive constantly into my experiences with food, but I’d say the first one here will do the trick for a bit.

In a true surprise to all, I have watched the latest season of The Bear, and I have felt all the emotions that comes with it. I’ll save any big spoilers, but there’s one part that related to something I often ask myself: what interests me so much about the world of food?

In the show, Carmy stands in a kitchen alongside the real Thomas Keller, who shares a memory of when he was asked, “do you know why cooks cook?”:

Now I’ll be the first to admit that I am nowhere close to being a chef. If anything, I’m still working toward the goal I told my mom before that picture above was taken, when I said, “I wanna be a cooker.”

Whether you like cooking, you like eating, or wherever you fall in both those areas — two hands up here for liking both of those — food is a connection with others.

I hold close many core memories centered around food and the gatherings that come with it: holiday meals with four courses of required family staples, birthday dinners with friends packed into a small apartment with makeshift tables, instant connections with strangers as all eyes go to dishes coming to the table, and travel memories trying to tackle a way-too-long list of “must-try” places to eat.

All that scratches the surface of what has led me to create this space here. What it boils down to: food is a connection. It brings us together, creates a space to share who we are, and builds memories wherever we go. If nothing else, it’s created this space here.

I hope that all made sense. If it felt like rambling, I’m blaming the seemingly never-ending heat wave going on. Stay cool out there.

What’s Cookin’

If there’s one thing that I will brave the heat for, it’s a good meal and some fresh produce. Summer produce has a special place in my heart and makes cooking simple so much easier.

Jumping to a run down for this week’s featured meals.

Apricot Upside Down Cake

Everything else pictured above was on my shopping list.

I’ve never had apricots, and I don’t think I would’ve been able to pick them out of a line if not labeled. THAT SAID… I’m a FAN. NYTimes Cooking’s upside down cake was a great showing for the perfectly ripe summer fruits. The caramelized topping with the apricots plus a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream… will take that any day that ends in Y.

Homemade Bagels

I typically follow a recipe from one of the baking bibles, Ken Forkish’s Flour Water Salt Yeast, but I’ve found that the Culinary Explorations’ recipe here does a pretty great job. Homemade bagels are absolutely worth it. Yes, there are many bagel shops, but waking up to truly freshly made bagels is always worth it.

Tip (+ potential hot take): I’ve found to like the poke method of shaping bagels. It’s easier and more consistent.

As for go-to cream cheese flavor, it’s gotta be the garden veggie. A pleasant surprise this weekend, Tillamook makes a Honey Jalapeno cream cheese. 10/10 recommend.

Grated Zucchini Orecchiette

A little sneak peek at what’s next, but I need to shoutout Hailee Catalano for her style of simple cooking. This summer pasta dish was another perfect example of that. Plus, topping it with squash blossoms gave it a nice pop of summer looks.

Feed the Feed: Favorite Follows

A quick spotlight here for one of my favorite follows so far this year: Hailee Catalano. As I already said, she cooks great, simple meals that are so welcoming for home cooks. Also the food just shines itself, and making a good looking dish at home is all that much more satisfying.

Aside from the pasta above, I’ve made her creamy onion pasta TWICE, which goes along way because not only did I make it twice but I also shared it with friends as a go-to. And a couple others I’ve had saved:

• Sicilian Pizza – not sure if it’s my Italian brain, or just consistently craving different types of pizzas, this one sticks out. I’m a sucker for a thicker pie, and it’s tough to really break me away from my favorite Marc Vetri Al Taglio style. This one is top of that list.

• Green Bean and Tomato Salad – this recipe couldn’t be better at prime time for some good green beans and many tomato types to choose from.

• Lemon Fennel Grilled Chicken Wings – I’m a sucker for some grilled wings and this flavor combo just sounds like a perfect addition to the rotation. Also the recipe features a garlic pepperoncini dipping sauce, not that I’m trying to replace the special side of ranch.

Pair any of those with a chilled bottle of red, rose, orange or white wine (I’m picky), and I’m not sure you’ll find a much better Friday night meal.

Also one last feature on this spotlight: twopplcooking. Hailee and her partner Chuck (and sometimes their pup) share the whole experience of a weekly night of cooking in their kitchen. Again, simple and fun. Nothing flashy but the food still looks so good.

If you’ve made it this far, I owe you something. Maybe down the line this can serve as an I-O-U. As always, appreciate everyone tuning in to whatever this is!

Have a great week 🤘