I’m just going to take a minute to really let my nerd show. If that weirds you out, you’re free to leave.
Last night, I went to a live recording of the Bon Appetit Foodcast which was themed around Red Sauce America. First of all, I listen to this podcast religiously. It’s like going to school, listening to people smarter and savvier than me talking about nuances and luxurious details about the things I love the most in this world. It’s honestly one of the easiest ways for me to expand my own food knowledge to pass on to my students and friends without having to truly deep dive into culinary school or every detail of the classic French cookbooks.
Secondly, I fucking love Italian food. Betcha can’t guess why… yep, it’s the whole carbs and cheese thing. I spent the evening listening and watching my idols discuss and argue about things like the right way to make Caesar salad and whether chicken Parmesan should be coated in mozzarella or just good parm.
To be clear, the answer to that is definitely both.
It was like this strange meditation. I didn’t pay attention to the 200 something people around me- I could only focus on the fabulous folks on stage speaking at length about topics that I dream about all day. You know when you’re watching a football game and everyone around you loves the team and you’re talking strategy and players, yelling and screaming at the same time when something great happens. Or maybe you love a really popular musician like Taylor Swift but rarely do you meet people who are on your level of fandom so when you do, it becomes a swapping of secret knowledge and wisdom that you can’t find anywhere else.
That’s how I feel about things like this. Sure, people like food. Everyone eats, right? But I LOVE food. My wonderful friends put up with my intense (and sometimes overdramatic reactions) to the things I eat and they do a pretty good job indulging my culinary obsession, but there are few people who want to sit and discuss the proper technique for butter basting a steak or converse about the right kinds of cheese to put in mac and cheese. Sitting there tonight, listening to Brad Leone have an argument with himself over his choice between garlic knots or mozzarella sticks, it was like fucking poetry.
I know. I know
