Thursday, March 10, 2011

My quest for good eats #4: In a salad daze

As I eluded to last time if there is one word that gives a bit of a instant dislike for me its the word salad. For me a salad means all the woody veggies that I don't care for. I eat them alright but not the woody ones. So for this part of my journey I went in with no experience and said "this shouldn't be to hard..just a salad" HA! If you ever see me say that sort of stupid statement ever again you have permission to call me out in front of god and everyone in the room! I first made a vinaigrette with a nice little concoction of flavors..a bit to strong for my tastes or the real salad eater in the house, my mom, tastes either..vinegar isn't something for everyone. I even adjusted the salad recipe a bit to make for the fact that there are some gluten alergies in the house as well. This took what already wasn't as easy as I thought and made me think on my feet..and that is a good thing. To quote Alton Brown himself from the book I'm Just Here for the Food "Cooking requires not just knowledge but understanding, and requires thought."  That means someone wanting to cook needs to be able to adapt and not always be a "slave to a recipe" It's statements like this that make me love Alton Browns way of thinking as much as I do. As for how the whole ordeal went? Well it was a good learning experience and to quote my mother "If there had been a little less lemon juice then it would have been perfect" which when I tasted it myself I agreed completely with and as I stated above I am not a salad person yet I liked it..if not for to much juice. This is what my journey is really about to take chances with food I have never even tried to do and make it happen even if I manage to add one thing to much. I still know how to make a basic salad now for various occasions whether I play host to a guest who likes salads or maybe be the guy that brought the salad. It still comes in use..and I made my first emulsion of this journey! If I recall my good eats episodes right though..it will not be my last!

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