As an Italian super taster loving appreciating and creating food that is a reflection of emotions means the world to me.
Many people in my life that are special I have gone out of my way to make a dish that is a reflection of that moment as a way to capture that essence and share it.
An example is I make a tremendous jerk chicken and curry goat.
This is a reflection of my first girlfriend who was a Jamaican Dipomat advisors daughter and I spent 3 summers in a row living in Jamaica.
Because so many people would rave about it my grandma asked me to make it for her and even though I told her she wouldn't like it her insisting made me and she complained how spicy and tart it was ( chicken washed in vinger rubbed in jerk spices)
She asked me if I could tone down the spice.
I said absolutely not! It has to be made authentically or not at all. Whenever I make that dish it reminds me of that special someone and my Jamaican friends.
I now have a new dish on my list Latkes! The first time I made latkes was last week I had never heard of the dish. Eventhough I grew up with relatives who made them and probably at times had them, my brain probably just thought of them as odd tasting hasbrowns.
Me and my girlfriend had went to a place that apparently specializes in that type of food since 1933!
So I figured I was about to have my mind blown and yet it tasted like luke warm sorta bland potatoes. 😭 She stated they tasted like they were just taken outta of a premade freezer, fried and just reheated.
The lameness of something I was looking forward to made me say as I live and breath I must make a better version. 🤔 So I spent hours wathcing food videos reading recipes -- while my girlfriend was sleeping.
Then I did mental visualizations of the layering of the ingredients and concept fusing multiple recipes into the version I think would taste best.
So last Thursday was the first time i tried it and oh boy was there fun involved -- didn't know it was gonna have blood play!😵💫
When I was shaving the potatoes the first time the slicer slipped and I shaved a sliver of my finger off!
I had to then wrap my hand in a bandage and make them with one hand so as to not contaminate the food with my blood. I also didn't have enough eggs at first for the amount of potatoes.
so I had to ask my girlfriend to crack eggs for me as i tried to mix them with one hand it was a disaster.😵
The first one attempted exploded into three parts because I didn't cook it long enough before flipping.
Also I tried to cook them in a wok which wasn't the best choice.
Yet even with all that set back latkes had promise.
Today my second attempt were absolutely delicious. Without cutting part of my finger off, swaping breadcrumbs for panko bread crumbs, getting more water out of em in better wringing technique, adding a tiny bit more onion, adding more salt, and cooking them in a cast iron skillet-- oh my gosh everyone went nuts.
I can't believe in less then 4 days of trying to master a dish I can safely say my latkes crush the ones that I had a restaurant known for them.
One of the reasons I love cooking is like any Italian I believe food is one of the most important experiences in life.
Every time I make latkes it is now linked to the woman who introduced them to me.
People often joke and say the secret ingredient in food is love. I will be far more descriptive the secret ingredient is taking pride in what you do and caring about the final product.
For some it's love that drives them, for me its to honor my heritage, my drive to excel at what I do, and my genuine joy in bringing happiness to others.
Good food can put a smile on almost anyones face and being able to do that is a gift to everyone.
