recipephile

Notes on Creativity - Enlist Your Friends and Make it Fun

My friend Jeffrey sent me this posting for RecipePhile. I loved it and thought it would make a GREAT Note on Creativity. Thanks Jeffrey

Sometimes cooking is about the personal process of making something spectacular and elegant for your friends. Other times it's more of a pleasant necessity leading up to a social engagement. This past Saturday it was reminiscent of the arts and crafts table in kindergarten.

My roommates and I had some friends over to watch a movie, and we tricked out this otherwise sedentary evening with a make-your-own-pizza dinner theme. We loaded up their kitchen island with bowls and bowls of various toppings, sauces and cheeses, and the guests took turns making their own personal pizzas from whatever they chose. What fun!

We gussied this up with some 'fancy' stuff – grilled chicken, grilled veggies (onion, pepper, eggplant, zucchini), toasted pine nuts, ricotta and gorgonzola cheeses in addition to already shredded part-skim mozzarella, fresh minced basil and oregano, and pesto as well as a traditional tomato sauce. I am personally a fiend for anchovies, and seem to have been the only one who availed himself of this particular topping.

Really, though, no ingredient list or recipe is needed here. Each of you knows what you and your friends want on your pizza. Pick up some fresh pizza dough and encourage your friends to get their hands dirty and play!

But here are a few tips to get you going:

On selecting toppings: if you want an everyone shares everything kind of tapas evening, go for toppings that pretty much everybody likes.

On the dough: Most grocery stores offer bags of bread or pizza dough and a few even offer whole wheat versions. If you get desperate, there are always those pre-fab pizza shells, but avoid them if you can. A tablespoon or so of olive oil smeared on your hands will help prevent sticking when stretching out the dough, and a sprinkling of corn meal on the baking sheet or pizza stone will accomplish the same thing during the baking process.

On baking: Bake your completed pizzas in the oven, preheated at about 425 or 450 degrees. Depending on their thickness, they'll need about 12 minutes, but watch them closely starting at 9 minutes. If you want to save time or if your friends are persnickety about getting messy, then I suggest you pre-bake the pizza crusts for about 7 minutes before the assembly begins, and then reduce the second post-assembly cooking time to about 6 minutes.

Notes on Creativity - Try Everything

Okay... I broke a major rule yesterday.   My goal is to do as much food preparation as possible and use this forum to write about my experiences.  I just moved into a new place and for the first time ever, I have a microwave.  So as I was strolling the aisles of the frozen food section a Lean Cuisine caught my eye.  At first I walked away and said NO.  Then I walked back and thought... "This is something I have to try.  230 calories and 7 grams of fat. Why not?" 

I chose the turkey with stuffing and apple sauce, went  home, popped into the microwave for 4 minutes and then sat at my desk to read email and eat.  It was by no means amazing and by no means absolutely inedible (I ate the whole thing), but for me it lacked the excitement I have in actually preparing a meal for myself or friends.

It was an experience and provided me with some real insight.  Some I apply to business all of the time is "the worst that anyone will say is NO" and the worst that this meal would say to me was "NO" you do not like me and so never try me again. 

I will not be lining up to buy Lean Cuisine any time soon, but now I know because I tried it.  So get out there and try stuff.  Pigs feet, tripe, pork rinds, whatever life presents you. 

 

Notes on Creativity - Watch Your Mom

Over Christmas my mother whipped up an apple pie in a matter of minutes.  Well… she whipped up the filling and had the pie assembled and ready to go into the oven in minutes.  She used fresh apples and canned apples. She also used store bought piecrust and when I questioned her on this she said to me… “Michael, I make ten different cookies, ravioli and so many other foods during the holidays that I do not have time for making homemade pie crust.  Store bought is fine and to be honest, nobody recognizes the difference.” Some insightful wisdom from a woman whom I totally respect when it comes to food.  The moral of this story… Watch your mom (or anyone else that cooks) while she is cooking in the kitchen. You will learn lots of tips, tricks, shortcuts and so many more things that you never even knew.  Most importantly apply those learnings.  Your skill set will SOAR!

Notes on Creativity - Fail Forward

This is one of the hardest lessons to learn.  Not only in business and in life, but also in the kitchen.  Everyone hates failure. It is marred with negative connotations and makes us feel down, out and incapable. 

Enough with the negativity however.  Now it is time to look at failure in a much different way.  Failing forward is the art of learning from your mistakes, and in the kitchen I have made many.  The lessons I have learned however, have been invaluable.  One of my favorite failures happened right before a dinner party complete with roasted chickens.  After roasting the chickens in Pyrex I removed the birds and placed the Pyrex on the stovetop to make my gravy.   The heat was cranked up high as I added my chicken stock and white wine then all of the sudden -- CRASH -- the dish exploded into pieces and my gravy seeped down into the depths of my stovetop. 

No gravy for dinner, but a lesson was learned.  Pyrex dishes can withstand intense indirect heat in the oven, but when the heat of the dish is changed rapidly it undergoes thermal shock and explodes.  The lesson -- when making gravy after roasting chickens or turkey or any other kind of meat, make sure the pan is not glass or Pyrex. 

Now... think back to your worst kitchen disasters and search for the lesson, you will be surprised how it changes your perspective on past failures.

Notes on Creativity - Let Travel Inspire you

When traveling I always try the local foods and end up inspired.  For example, while in Costa Rica I feasted on Chayote, Escabeche and Gallo Pinto.  In Southeast Asia I devoured chili sauce and loved the steamed fish with lime and mint sauce.  They make the best sandwiches at Primanti's in Pittsburgh PA with the meat, cole slaw and french fries right on the sandwich.  When possible I ask for recipes, always take notes and let my mind wander on the various ways I can recreate dishes using other ingredients and flavors. 

The ultimate goal is to make it something that ties regional flavors into something that is uniquely my style.  Thinking about the foods I have eaten from all ends of the earth allows me to be more creative when I cook.  It also lets me add a twist on original recipes.