The pleasures of cooking

I received two cookbooks for Christmas, both of which I had requested.  I don’t usually ask for cookbooks because I find the internet suits my recipe-seeking needs very well.  Being the technology project manager that I am, the web-based search engine has bested the low-tech index at the back of the book – so I just don’t cook from books too much anymore.  However, I still love to flip through cookbooks that have great pictures, so every now and then I add one to my collection.  

The two I received this year were Everyday Italian by Giada De Laurentiis and Barefoot Contessa Parties by Ina Garten. Both women have shows on the Food Network, and those shows are what made me want to have their books.  The chefs themselves are different.  Giada focuses on Italian food, with a lot of influence from her family favorites.  Ina covers a pretty broad spectrum in terms of what she cooks, which stems from her catering business.  Both seem to do a lot of entertaining, if you believe the scenarios on which their episodes are based.  But I really think what attracted me to their food, and ultimately their cookbooks, is the style in which their shows are produced.

Here’s where I let you in on a dirty little secret of mine.  I think the preparation of food can be a sensual experience.  Yes, that’s right.  It’s a feast for the senses that can evoke certain emotions….or at least it does in me.  And what makes me gravitate toward these shows is that the sensuality of preparing food is played up in the way it is filmed, edited, staged…everything.  In Giada’s case – how can you not play up the sensual experience of cooking with this woman.  She’s a 30ish dead ringer for Sophia Lauren.  She is hot – and they really play that up (nary a show goes by when we don’t get a generous helping of Giada’s cleavage).  But that aside, it’s in the way her hands move with the food product, the sound of an egg cracking while there’s a tight shot on it.  Then there’s the beautiful bowl it gets deposited into.  (They always have such beautiful dishware on these shows.)  

I marvel at the simple elegance of a perfectly manicured hand chopping beautiful red peppers with a gleaming silver knife.  And it’s not done in the frenzied way most chefs chop, but in a gentle, measured cadence – almost lovingly! There’s the sizzle of pancetta as it’s tossed into a hot pan, the stirring of creamy mascarpone cheese. Every time this show is on I am sucked in to watching it.  Even Dave was mesmerized by it recently – although I think that’s because he was fantasizing that Giada and the female friend who was helping her in the kitchen that day were having some sort of an off-camera tryst.  Men!

Now contrast that show with Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa and it proves my point that it is the food preparation that brings the sensuality to the show.  She is the polar opposite of Giada in terms of sexual appeal, however the way in which her cooking process is portrayed is very similar.  The ingredients she uses, the techniques she employs and the ease and elegance with which she works makes you want to see more.  Makes you want to cook what she is cooking.  She also has beautiful dishes, pots, pans, trays, knives, etc.  I am so jealous of their materials…and their kitchens!

I first started to feel this way a couple of years ago when Nigella Lawson had her short-lived cooking show.  Now there was a sensual cooking experience.  They actually included shots of Nigella licking her finger in a provocative way.   At times you almost felt like you were watching the beginning of a soft-core porno movie.  Ahh….I did enjoy that show.  Too bad it was on so briefly.

I guess I could also somewhat safely confess here that I loved the refrigerator scene in 9 ½  Weeks for similar reasons.  Can’t beat good old-fashioned fun with food.  But I seriously digress. Sorry.

I know that these cookbooks will be no substitute for the sensual experience of watching their TV shows, but I have learned some terrific recipes from both Giada and Ina – and am anxious to recreate them for Dave and the girls.  

So now that you know TMI about me, and my culinary proclivities maybe it will help you understand where I’m coming from with this food-focused blog.  Thanks again for riding along with me on my trip to Crazy!