A newfound passion...

About five and a half years ago, I met this girl.  Like any guy, I wanted to find any way to talk to her, and any way to impress her.  So, for one of our first dates I decided to cook her dinner.  It was a mess.  We ended up eating slightly undercooked steaks and potatoes in the dark.  But that date spawned something.  Maybe it was my desire to keep trying to impress her with my cooking prowess.  Maybe it was my understanding that she was never going to be the cook in this relationship.  Whatever it was, I kept trying new things, and slowly improving what I was doing.  I'm not sure what the tipping point was exactly (though I'm pretty sure it was right around the time I ate my first meal at a Bobby Flay restaurant), but in the past year, a new passion has taken hold.  So, like any 20 something in this high-tech, inter-connected world, I'm not just exploring it, I'm blogging about it.

Now, I'm not about to embark on something like the Julie and Julia (or whatever the title was) movie where I work my way through a cookbook.  And I'm not about to drop everything to go to culinary school and open a restaurant.  It's not about me becoming a great chef.  It's simply about me enjoying food; whether it be cooking it myself, enjoying the labors of others, or learning about new things in general.

So, that brings me to my point.  I've developed a new appreciation for food.  I've gone from the type of guy that prided himself on being able to purchase a month's worth of groceries for $100 to a guy that will spend twenty minutes just staring into the meat section at Whole Foods before selecting just what I want.  I went from having two pots and one pan to watching Iron Chef and adding things to my wedding registry because I was so intrigued by what they were doing (though I had to draw the line at vacuum sealer and imersion circulator).  I watch shows like Top Chef and Iron Chef America to get some ideas as much as for pure entertainment.  I went from Mac and Cheese to Roasted Red Pepper Risotto with Applewood Smoked Bacon and Orange Glazed Prawns.

But, it's not just about the cooking.  It's about the eating too.  I am already anticipating blog posts about restaurants that I've been too (guaranteed that CraftSteak and Mesa Grill are coming up).  I've actually created a spreadsheet of different restaurants in different cities that I want to try, given the opportunity of making it to the city through travel.  

I know I'm no different than many amateur chefs out there.  In fact, there are many that have far more talent that I do.  But, it is something that I absolutely enjoy, and I'm hoping that a few of you that read this will enjoy it as well.  And who knows, maybe as my skills continue to develop, one of these days I'll be able to share some of my creations with you.

As the French would say, Bon Appetit!