Cooks, not Chefs

I absolutely love this Od-Ed column in the New York Times about the growing use of the word "chef" to denote someone who just happens to cook well. I hear this sometimes, when someone will say, "he's a chef." Note - I certainly am not a chef. I have never cooked professionally in a restaurant kitchen nor do I particularly aspire to. However, I do love to cook at home and for people, especially loved ones and family. This articles in the NYT really highlights the difference between the home cook and the chef, and why we should aspire to be great cooks instead of chefs.

I started cooking often when I went to college, when I got an apartment nearby my university and had a kitchen to myself. My roommate generally didn't use the kitchen much so I went to IKEA and purchased a number of dishes and cookware for myself. I didn't watch Food Network or any other cooking shows, but I did entertain myself with some simple cookbooks I had. I'd prowl the local grocery store and put together ridiculously unhealthy college meals for me and a few friends.

Things started to get serious once I was home during summers. I'd stay in and watch cooking shows, wandering the aisles of Whole Foods and Trader Joe's for interesting ingredients. Farmer's Markets were a regular activity for me, just going around and smelling, feeling, tasting wonderful produce. I'd invite friends over and make pasta or risotto, perhaps some Korean fried rice. I just made simple comfort food until I started going out to more restaurants. Then I realized I loved cool plating. Even if I was making simple food at home, I'd love to plate things with nice sauces and presentations. It's one of my lame little signature things, I love to stack food and assemble them in attractive ways.

Despite this "restaurantization" of my cooking, I still relish the thought of giving someone delicious food. Cooking is a pleasure to both give and receive. Too many times we're caught up with eating the newest and greatest thing on the culinary scene, but the foundation of eating is in the kitchen, the kitchen of the home and of the heart.

Last night, Christine and I finally cooked together. Well, almost cooked. We heated up some funky, but hearty chun-gook-jjang, a notorious fermented soybean stew with clams, fried fresh kimchi-jun (pancakes), heated some korean braised short ribs, and ate it all with some banchan. Later, we made some fresh cookies from scratch - here's the recipe. BTW, these cookies are pretty amazing, but we've only made them once, so no guarantees on the recipe. We literally made these up as we were making it. They're amazing. Adapted from the Joy of Cooking:

Oatmeal-Cinnamon-Chocolate-Toffee-Almond Cookies

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1 large egg
1 stick of butter, softened in microwave for 7 seconds
1/2 cup of sugar
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch of ground cinnamon
1/2 package of apple cinnamon instant oatmeal
1 large package of Symphony hershey (with toffee and almond) chocolate bar, chopped into bite-size pieces

Preheat oven to 375 Degrees F.

Mix flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add in butter and vanilla extract and stir with whisk until mealy and chunky. Add in the sugar, egg and vanilla and continue stiring until thick and doughy. Add in chocolate pieces and instant oatmeal and stir a few final times with a flat rubber spatula.

Grease large baking sheet with butter (thick baking sheet preferred for better texture on the bottom of the cookie). Portion out dough to about 1.5 thick in diamter and place at least 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Dust a pinch of cinnamon on each piece. Put cookies in the oven for 11 minutes.

Take out when slightly browned on the bottom and crispy. Keep on sheet for 2 minutes or so, then take off using a spatula and let cool on a large platter or a cooling rack. Enjoy with milk or coffee.