A BOOK IS COMING
EVENTUALLY(ish?)
Huh?
So here's the deal. I've written about half of my cook book. I've taken no pictures, and have done almost zero proof reading. It's a draft. And it's damn near 200 pages already. Frankly I'm tired to writing right now, but I don't want any of the work, and the effort to go to waste. So I'm publishing here. Using this blog to get my recipes out there, do some proofing, take some photos, etc. It's a work in progress. But sign up below to stay in the loop for when it's actually released.
A Little Sneak Peak
Dedication:
This book is dedicated to my Nana who always believed in me, my wife who always puts up with me, my parents who made me like this, and all of the friendships I’ve found along the way.
Forward and Forewarning:
I’ve decided to write a cookbook. This is one of those books that is going to require a little explanation and some warning up front.
I’m not sure who would read this, or why. I’m not a chef, I’m definitely not an “influencer”, I have no formal or classical training, and my only “professional” cooking experience is eight fun years in an Italian cafe and a few slinging burgers, $1 domestics and sugary shots at a college bar; But for whatever reason, I love to entertain, I love to drink, and I fucking love to cook.
It probably has something to do with watching my Dad growing up. A classically trained chef who’s passion clearly rode the genetic highway transfer to my brother and I. The latter can cook his ass off too, but I’m more into spontaneously starting new projects, which is why my name is on the cover and not his. He’ll probably be featured here somewhere along the line if I can bribe him to give up his Korean BBQ recipe.
If you haven’t written me off yet, cool. I hope you keep reading and I hope I inspire you to try a recipe in this book. One thing is for certain, you shouldn’t take me or anything I say too seriously, no matter how serious I pretend to be. Follow my recipe to the word or use it for inspiration to tweak as you go. I’d prefer the latter, cooking is all about your taste and making it your own. There is no such thing as bastardizing a recipe (I’m looking at you Italians, pineapple and pizza on page XX) Scribble all over my pages, you do you.
Here’s the deal, because this is my book I can do what I want. I write as I speak, I use colorful language, and I’m opinionated, but opinions are like assholes. This doesn’t follow any prescribed set of rules or the flow that you might see in every generic cookbook wearing a celebrity face on the “Top Seller’s” shelf at Target. I hate those books, they’re mostly a cash grab with no soul. I’ll try my best to be the opposite of that. You’ll certainly learn about who I am and what makes me, me. My food is a pretty good medium for that story.
This is part life story, part cookbook, part rant. Fair warning - I barely con-ed my way through English 101, and nobody has ever told me to write a book (Besides Lauren). But that’s part of the fun, right? If you hate it, save it for a firestarter. It’ll burn well.
I’ll give you the recipes I like to make, those that Lauren loves, I’ll make up more than a few along the way, and I’ll try to replicate and describe, to an annoying level of detail, some dishes and memories that I’ve had along life’s journey so far. I’m a nerd. So I’ll randomly go into an unnecessary level of detail about the science of why something works just to do it, because I feel like it - I love to share this knowledge, and I wrote this for me afterall. If there’s a short cut method or a lazy way to do something I’ll make sure to call it out, because let’s be real - Not everyone wants to spend two hours making dinner after sitting in meetings all day that could have been an email.