Nigella Lawson has no soul?!

Court and I were watching the cooking show Nigella's Feast on the Food Network. For those of you who aren't familiar Nigella Lawson is a British woman with a cooking show and a series of cookbooks. Her personality is very odd, especially for a TV personality and I haven't quite made up my mind about her, yet. As far as I know she has never worked in the food service industry and seems to be a wealthy housewife type. She has a bizarre habit of very aggressively stating that she hates healthy food and hates eating small portions. Anyway, we are watching her make her "healthy food" (which she hates) and she comments that something would be great for her soul. I wasn't really paying all the much attention, but I could've sworn she then said, "If I had a soul..."

So you've heard it here first: Nigella Lawson has no soul. I suppose she sold it to the devil in payment for fame and fortune or something. It would explain why such an odd personality is so popular on TV...

Recent stuff we've made:
Coriander and Cumin patties from Mangoes & Curry Leaves by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid. These are hands down the best hamburgers I've ever had. They don't need anything in the way of condiments, although Court likes a little extra yogurt on them. Server them bare or in lettuce leaves.

We made a nice salad from Jamie Oliver's The Naked Chef. The salad consists of roasted chilis, shredded basil leaves and olive oil sprinkled over torn mozzarella cheese. The coolness of the cheese complements the spicy chili really well. We also threw in some grilled pork chops topped with basil and pinenut pesto (from Jamie's book as well). I learned that Purple Basil (we've been growing some in the garden) makes a very odd-looking pesto. It tastes fine but looks almost like a black olive tapenade...

Anthony Bourdain's No Reservation

I wanted to mention a show that Court and I have become big fans of: Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations. For those who aren't familiar with Anthony Bourdain he is the executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles in New York City. He is of french extraction but grew up in New Jersey. On No Reservations, Bourdain travels around the world and tries the interesting and often odd (to us Americans) cuisines of different countries. Bourdain is crass and a harsh critic but surprisingly, given is brash nature, seems to look for the best in every situation. He is especially fond, it seems, of the cuisines of the countryside in the various countries he visits and is always polite and grateful to those people... this is saying a lot when you see some of the stuff he ends up eating. If you like travel and are interested in different foods from around the world you should check out the show on the Travel Channel. However, if you are squeamish about seeing people eat offal (or sometimes just plain awful) or if you are a big fan of the likes of the celebrity chefs Rachel Ray or Bobby Flay this is not the show for you.

Dinner last night:
Swordfish steak with basil and pine nut pesto
Green beans sauteed in garlic and black bean sauce
Mustard greens (from our garden) braised with garlic, dried red chili and chicken stock.

-Nick

First post

My fiancee, Courtney, and I love to cook. It is something we've done together almost since day one of our relationship. Periodically we decide to try a new cuisine or style of cooking and attempt to learn as much as we can about the cultural and culinary aspects of that cuisine or style. I'm hoping to use this blog as a way to chronicle our journey through the world of cooking.

Recent things we've made:
Sangria
Actually we put together quite a few tapas recipes using some of the Food Network's suggested recipes.
Just yesterday Court and I began to delve into the world of home brewing again. We have created "Daddy's I.P.A." in honor of Father's Day. I'll let you know how that turns out in a few weeks.

I'll leave this post at that...