About me
Italian by birth and upbringing, my cooking emphasizes Italian-Mediterranean influences, especially in the choice of ingredients. On the other hand, I indulge on Mexican, Asian, and continental American. I can fix (here it shows I've been living in TN for over 13 years!) very nice breakfasts too, which my son especially enjoys! Cooking, along with photography, is my creative outlet, a place into which I can channel my passionate, intense self to produce relaxing, entertaining, gratifying plates. I can cook just for myself, for my son, just for two (most of the time...), or for large bunches -- cooking for a party at my place is always a lot of fun! I'm an attentive-to-detail guy, but in cooking that is reflected more in how I present my food, garnish it, or ornate the table. Liking photography, I'm a very "visual" kind of guy -- so, if I can picture it, I can do it, and it needs to look good! I typically use recipes more as guidelines than anything else, and I substitute ingredients around a lot, eliminate or add some, tend to not use butter when I can in favor of olive oil, and adjust amounts rather liberally to my taste. I also like to improvise or to try new recipes all the time, even when throwing a party! A bit risky, I guess, but it has worked thus far! Because of this tendency to improvise, adjust and modify when in the kitchen, along with the fact that I can easily do without cakes & co. (my concept of dessert is quite different...), baking has not been my thing and don't plan on taking it on. I find it rather unforgiving to my attempts to improvise, adjust and modify... That certainly is because of my limited cooking skills, reason why I define myself an intermediate level foodie! At my skill level, I think that baking is more for people that like to do always the same thing, repeat it over and over and over, following always the same exact procedure... More like a lab experiment, if you know what I mean... Not my thing! I like variety and enjoy cooking as my creative outlet!! The day I'll learn to cook better, I may end up taking us baking "my way"...