101 Chowdown Countdown

5-way chili

If you haven’t discovered this, then I highly recommend it. Tune in to watch the Travel Channel’s 101 Chowdown Countdown. They even used a new word “hungrify” as a warning of the incredible food they’re showing you. 

http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Chowdown_Countdown

This show is amazing, but I suggest watching it after you’ve even otherwise it will make you very very hungry. They show a great mixture of cuisines plus a balance between sweet and savory. Some of the food is a little over the top – like a pizza that weighs 30 lbs. or a burger on a donut instead of a bun (don’t forget the cheese and bacon to go with it).

Chinese egg roll, quesadilla, Cuban beans, and more..

The other great thing about it is that you’ll learn about places you’ve never heard of right in your backyard. I’ll be visiting the ‘Chino Bandido’ in Phoenix, AZ some time soon (http://www.chinobandido.com/). The owners are a mixed couple (Chinese and American) who grew up in Phoenix and have blended their at-home Chinese cuisine with the Mexican flavors that are inherent in Arizona. Very interesting.

Another place I have heard so much about but never got the chance to eat at is Sylvia’s in Harlem, NY (http://www.sylviassoulfood.com/). I heard Sundays are packed with all the folks coming in from church, so maybe go on a Sunday.

  They’ve been repeating a lot of the episodes, so I hope you get a chance to watch it! And even better get a chance to eat at some of these fantastic places.

Read Full Post »

Why I Love To Cook

“In what art or science could improvements be made that would more powerfully contribute to increase the comforts and enjoyments of mankind?” – Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford (In a 1974 essay on the Art of Cookery)

Cooking can be described as many things – necessity, art, science or even a waste of time.

I know for some it’s an odd career transition that I’ve made – corporate finance/accounting to culinary school/food management? What does that even mean? While I currently have it in my mind that food development is what I want to do, I am aware that the education I am about to embark on will invariably change what I now think I know about food and the industry. But for now the transition just comes naturally to me.

You see.. The science aspect of cooking appeals to my need for everything to have a right answer. Despite the obvious flexibility of food, there are certain things that are just fact. For example, the temperature at which chicken is cooked, the amount of yeast needed to make bread rise, the success of growing certain vegetables during certain times of the year or the fact that egg whites when whipped becomes white and fluffy…

Similarly there are excel formulas, macros, SOX (not talking sports for non-finance folks) and US GAAP. And let’s face it numbers never lie. Well, what I mean is 1 + 1 will always be 2. And I have to sadly confess balancing a general ledger, making a pretty spreadsheet or teaching someone a new excel trick is still fulfilling in some twisted way. However, I still adamantly disagree with my family that I was “meant to be an accountant” (probably partly due to the fact that I’m quite stubborn and independent). But I also know this because despite being able to geek out on excel for hours, there has always been some part of me dying to be creative, free-spirited, spontaneous or even a little irresponsible. I also really enjoy making others happy which accountants don’t exactly do. In fact, to offset my guilt, I occasionally brought home-cooked food or even jelly beans into the office as peace offerings when asking someone to explain some accounting concept or other.

 

Read Full Post »