Last night James and I had one of the best dinners we've had in quite awhile. Our friend Marc, who is a self-proclaimed "foodie," cooked us quite the Italian feast. I realized that I, too, would like to be a foodie.
What does it take to be a foodie? Well, my friends, that is what I am striving to uncover. James and I were talking about it on the way to church this morning and came up with a decent starter list of requirements:
1) You should be very comfortable cooking with a large variety of fresh herbs (a.k.a. you don't use dried oregano when fresh oregano is in season).
2) You have at least 4 different cooking oils in your regular repertoire of cooking oils (olive oil is a given, but you probably use sesame oil, peanut oil, grapeseed oil, or your own concoction of fresh herb oil).
3) A serious complaint is that you just haven't found the right butcher yet.
4) Planning for a meal requires stopping at at least three different grocery/specialty stores.
5) You regularly read around 3-5 food blogs.
6) Although you may have settled into one or two niches in the food world, you are very familiar with the names and nuances of many different international food styles.
7) You much prefer eating in season - you eat early, mid, and late summer veggies when they're in season and you cook with plenty of squash in the fall.
8) You make the trek to local farms or farmer's markets; and you may even be a member of a local farm-share.
Alright, I think I'll cut the list off here. Now granted, not all bona-fide foodies meet all the requirements on this list but they are coming pretty close. If you are a beginner foodie, or a wannabe foodie like me, you should probably focus on cultivating 3 of these requirements to start with and then build up your foodie prowess and legitimacy. I will probably start working on requirements number 1, 2, 5, and 8 - but where you start on this list is all personal preference.
Now - for some personal inspiration in starting your foodie adventure, I will attempt to describe the fabulous feast that Marc prepared for us (And Marc - if you read this and I've botched any of the descriptions please correct me). Here is the menu:
1) Two different pestos with linguine.
Marc made one pesto with Thai basil, toasted walnuts, olive oil, and a parmigiano reggiano cheese, and the other pesto was a made with sweet basil, toasted walnuts, olive oil, and a Parmesan cheese.
2) Summer Squash Gratin
For this dish Marc sliced up a fair amount of Zucchini and sauteed them a bit, then he used a large casserole dish to layer marinara sauce, sauteed zucchini, and freshly grated Parmesan, and then baked it.
3) BBQ asparagus with prosciutto wrapped around the stalk.
4) Chicken thighs and drums with fresh herb marinade.
Marc made a simple marinade of olive oil, fresh basil, oregano, and lavender, smeared it all over the chicken, and let it marinate for awhile. Then he cooked it on the BBQ, took it off the grill and poured some more marinade over the top, and let it bake briefly in the oven.
5) Sangria
This was absolutely beautiful served in a glass pitcher - I think Marc had just used some rose, plenty of ice cubes, sliced strawberries, and orange slices.
6) Endive, walnut, and apple salad.
James and I made this salad - nothing special, just the above ingredients with an apple vinaigrette.
So there it is. Not everyone is cut out to be a foodie - James and I may just go halfsies for awhile. But go ahead and bust out of your chicken breast casserole routines to try something new, bright-eyed, and bushy-tailed.
What does it take to be a foodie? Well, my friends, that is what I am striving to uncover. James and I were talking about it on the way to church this morning and came up with a decent starter list of requirements:
1) You should be very comfortable cooking with a large variety of fresh herbs (a.k.a. you don't use dried oregano when fresh oregano is in season).
2) You have at least 4 different cooking oils in your regular repertoire of cooking oils (olive oil is a given, but you probably use sesame oil, peanut oil, grapeseed oil, or your own concoction of fresh herb oil).
3) A serious complaint is that you just haven't found the right butcher yet.
4) Planning for a meal requires stopping at at least three different grocery/specialty stores.
5) You regularly read around 3-5 food blogs.
6) Although you may have settled into one or two niches in the food world, you are very familiar with the names and nuances of many different international food styles.
7) You much prefer eating in season - you eat early, mid, and late summer veggies when they're in season and you cook with plenty of squash in the fall.
8) You make the trek to local farms or farmer's markets; and you may even be a member of a local farm-share.
Alright, I think I'll cut the list off here. Now granted, not all bona-fide foodies meet all the requirements on this list but they are coming pretty close. If you are a beginner foodie, or a wannabe foodie like me, you should probably focus on cultivating 3 of these requirements to start with and then build up your foodie prowess and legitimacy. I will probably start working on requirements number 1, 2, 5, and 8 - but where you start on this list is all personal preference.
Now - for some personal inspiration in starting your foodie adventure, I will attempt to describe the fabulous feast that Marc prepared for us (And Marc - if you read this and I've botched any of the descriptions please correct me). Here is the menu:
1) Two different pestos with linguine.
Marc made one pesto with Thai basil, toasted walnuts, olive oil, and a parmigiano reggiano cheese, and the other pesto was a made with sweet basil, toasted walnuts, olive oil, and a Parmesan cheese.
2) Summer Squash Gratin
For this dish Marc sliced up a fair amount of Zucchini and sauteed them a bit, then he used a large casserole dish to layer marinara sauce, sauteed zucchini, and freshly grated Parmesan, and then baked it.
3) BBQ asparagus with prosciutto wrapped around the stalk.
4) Chicken thighs and drums with fresh herb marinade.
Marc made a simple marinade of olive oil, fresh basil, oregano, and lavender, smeared it all over the chicken, and let it marinate for awhile. Then he cooked it on the BBQ, took it off the grill and poured some more marinade over the top, and let it bake briefly in the oven.
5) Sangria
This was absolutely beautiful served in a glass pitcher - I think Marc had just used some rose, plenty of ice cubes, sliced strawberries, and orange slices.
6) Endive, walnut, and apple salad.
James and I made this salad - nothing special, just the above ingredients with an apple vinaigrette.
So there it is. Not everyone is cut out to be a foodie - James and I may just go halfsies for awhile. But go ahead and bust out of your chicken breast casserole routines to try something new, bright-eyed, and bushy-tailed.
3 comments:
ok-i started glazing over about 1/2 way through because everything sounds SO DELICOUS...jealousy...you'll always have a taste tester in me :) and when hell freezes over i'll be a foodie-not by choice but because i think it to be impossible on this side of the great beyond-ha!
That summer squash gratin is the bomb! I made some the other night (not as good as Marc's!) and I loved it again. I'm so happy to have foodie friends that enjoy picking vegetables at the farm with me. =)
Great post!
mmmmm. Summer squash gratin. We've been eating it, a la' Choi-style and it is delicious.
Your blog is wonderful. And the picture of you picnicking by the Delaware is so Gatsby. Wow. It makes me want to go back right away! James is even wearing a white collared shirt. :)
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