A cook's heart

"You have to love either what you are going to eat, or the person you are cooking for. Then you have to give yourself up to cooking. Cuisine is an act of love." Madame Jehane Benoit, Chef

A few weeks ago I attended a cooking class called "Il Gusto Del Amore". It was a one night event that was supposed to teach about the aphrodisiac qualities of food in preparation for Valentine's Day. I attended on a whim with a friend and my mom, so it was really not as wild as it sounds. I was prepared to learn a good Italian meal, which I did get to eat a good chocolate creme brule, but in the end, the recipes presented were pretty run of the mill and un-exciting. However, by attending this class I received a book recommendation that has just burst open my mind to the creative possibilities in cooking. The instructor mentioned that one of her favorite books is called The Flavor Bible. I checked it out from the library to see what it is all about, and I have to tell you, it is a brilliant book!

This is not a cookbook with recipes. It is a book that lists ingredients and their compliments. The list is arranged alphabetically and covers a huge range, although who am I to say that there could not be more ingredients/topics possible, the list is pretty exhaustive. For example, let's take one of my favorite ingredients, honey. Here is a snippet of the list for honey:

Taste: sweet, astringent

Function: heating

Weight: medium-heavy

Wolume: moderate-loud

almonds

apples

apricots

baked goods (e.g. biscuits, breads)

bananas

brandy

butter

buttermilk

carrots

cheese: goat, ricotta, soft

chestuts

chiken

Chinese cuisine

chocolate: dark, white

cinnamon

coconut

coffee

etc, etc.

The point is this, say you have some honey on hand and you are really wanting to eat it, but you don't want to eat it the same old way you always do. Well, you pick up this book, see what pairings they suggest for honey, and then using your creative cook's mind, get to work concoting a brillant dish, meal, snack.

The suggestions come from surveys done with a handful of America's top chefs. This is really a clever compilation and I can think of 4 people already that I am planning on sending a copy. Just thought I would mention it here on the blog because this book has astounded me and opened up an entire treasure chest of cooking possibilities.

Happy cooking!