What do you do when you can’t travel or even go outside? You’ve got to get creative and make your own adventures at home. Presenting: Adventures in Cooking.
Even though we’re staying socially distant and most of us keeping close to home, we don’t have to sacrifice adventures.
Let’s face it – one of the best parts about traveling is trying new foods. This is probably one of the top things that I miss right now, and I’m sure I’m not alone.
So…What IS “Adventures in Cooking?”
We can still have adventures, even if we’re confined to our homes.
Adventures in Cooking is a segment that was birthed during a negative situation (ahem…2020), but will grow into a regular showcase of recipes reflecting a varieties of places around the world.
While we might not be physically traveling, we will be taking our tastebuds on a whirlwind of a trip.
We’ll be revisiting some of my favorite destinations and trying to recreate dishes that I’ve enjoyed.
And we’ll be visiting places vicariously through our tastebuds that I’ve learned about and want to travel to some day, exploring recipes that are well-known to the region.
I’ve always loved cooking. I have fond memories of hosting dinner parties every week in college. While the food wasn’t necessarily anything exciting from a culinary perspective, to the numerous college students I fed, it was a feast every time.
What to Expect in Each Article
Each article in the Adventures in Cooking series will contain my first attempt at cooking recipes that I am personally interested in and feel representative of a region/country/location.
You’ll be able to read the recipes I will use, my experience actually cooking the item, and of course, my thoughts on the actual taste.
I’ll also touch a bit about why I chose that particular recipe: what it means to me, how I came to know about it, and whether or not it will make it into my usual repertoire of recipes.
Origins for Adventures in Cooking Articles
When I start cooking new recipes, I try to follow the exact recipe as much as I can, in an attempt to have as “authentic” of an experience as I possibly can, while based in Salt Lake City, Utah. I recognize that many ingredients might not be readily available, but it’s exciting to think about the regional grocers that I will learn about as well.
Food memories are powerful, nostalgic adventures that stay with us for a long time. I was recently watching the Disney movie Ratatouille. If you haven’t watched it yet, I highly recommend it – it’s super cute and has an amazing message.
Spoiler alert: if you haven’t seen it, skip this paragraph. At the end of the film, the scary food critic takes a bite of the ratatouille dish (yes, it’s an actual dish that will feature in this series) and is instantly transported back to when he was a young boy.
Wouldn’t it be just delicious to experience the same thing, but from back in the days when we could travel wherever we wanted?
I should also throw in a small disclaimer at this point: I am a bit of a food snob.
I grew up with a mother that cooked all the time and taught us at her hip. My younger brother graduated from Le Cordon Bleu and introduced our family to a higher level of cooking. I regularly binge-watch Food Network and Cooking Channel, actively collect cookbooks from the masters, and have subscriptions to Saveur, Bon Appetit, and Food & Wine.
(I remember an assignment from my 7th grade English class with Mrs. Ewing: we had to create a magazine from scratch. Back in those days, we didn’t use computers (except to play Oregon Trail), so everything was hand-drawn and hand-written. We had to write articles, create “ads,” and have illustrations. My was called “Kids in the Kitchen,” and I distinctly remember including a few recipes and an ad for pot holders.)
That being said, I’m very much a novice in the kitchen. I find joy in experimenting and feeding others, which is one of my love languages.
I will source recipes from reputable chefs and websites. Although I love a few food/recipe blogs, I’m a historian first. I go to the primary source, not a secondary or tertiary.
Meaning – my recipes will not be *adapted from such-and-such recipe.
Once I find a recipe that I like, I’ll adapt it myself on my new food blog I created with my friend: Clementine Cuisine!
Goals of the Adventures in Cooking Series
In keeping with the overall theme of this website, the Adventures in Cooking series will demonstrate how you don’t have to go far to have a good adventure. We can take our tastebuds on an adventure they’ll never forget.
Like I’ve mentioned before, and echoing most travel bloggers out there, food is a great memory trigger (hopefully in a positive light, but not always). I’ve written about favorite restaurants and the best thing I’ve eaten at a variety of places. Now, it’s time to dive a little deeper and see if I can recreate some of them.
Everyone adventures differently. And sometimes we need a variety in the manner that we adventure. This is my way of allowing myself to explore a little more about the history and culture of places that I’ve visited, while also giving you permission to do the same.
So…let’s get into the kitchen for our first adventure together!
What are some of your favorite recipes from places that you’ve visited? What have your food memories been, positive or negative?
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