Welcome to Man in an Apron!

I know, what’s cooler, sexier and more awe-inspiring than a man in an apron, right?  Add to that image that the man in question is in his mid fifties and hasn’t lost a head hair in the shower since the early nineties.  I’m fairly certain that sexy, cool, and awe-inspiring have played out their usefulness in any mental picture you may have had when you clicked the link to get here!  Fortunately, the main focus of this blog will be food, and that can be cool, sexy and even awe-inspiring.

I actually spend a lot of time in my apron; slicing, dicing, sauteing, braising, etc.  My beautiful wife always tells me I should try to get on one of those TV shows featuring non-professional chef wannabes, but originality isn’t really my forte.  I am really good at finding great recipes written by the pros, and turning them into great meals though!  I also have a talent for tweaking already great recipes and making them easier or a little different.  And that is what I plan to share with this blog…. great recipes borrowed from the pros (always with credit) and tweaks of my own that I’ve tried with positive results.

I might as well let you know up front who my culinary heroes are, since I will no doubt be borrowing from and referencing them often.  Tyler Florence has become my “Go To” guy ever since he published “Eat This Book“.  He’s a master at turning complicated flavors and dishes into recipes most of us who can chop an onion can replicate.  Bobby Flay is not only a Rock Star to all grillers, but offers unique recipes for almost every ingredient imaginable. When I need to know something basic like what temp this turkey breast should be or what’s in a good crepe batter, Betty Crocker almost never fails me.  And finally, when I need to do something for which I don’t have the correct gadget,or want to try to sous vide without an immersion circulator, etc. I will always Google Alton Brown.

I hear you, where’s Julia and Jacques and Daniel and Wiley….?  Love them too, and would pant at a chance to eat anything they would cook for me!  They just don’t find their way into many of the dishes I whip up.  That’s not to say they’ll never show up here though!

So, what kind of food am I talking about?  What do I cook/eat and will want to share here? It may be easier to give you the short list of what doesn’t turn me on and what I haven’t yet attempted to make.  I don’t do casseroles!  My wonderful Mother fed a family of six on a shoestring budget, wonderfully on casseroles.  I have many great food memories in life, but none of them are a casserole.   I don’t use many ingredients that come from a can except tomatoes and occasionally beans.  I have never attempted Japanese cuisine although I count it as one of my very favorites, and Morimoto in Philly, my absolute fav.  I also don’t own a wok and live in an area where I have the luxury of many great takeout places, so Chinese, not so much. Everything else is fair game here.  Head to toe, sea to forest, San Francisco to Mumbai, and kitchen to backyard smoker.

“There is no love sincerer than the love for food.”  George Bernard Shaw

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