I spend a lot of time wondering where things like “non dairy creamer” come from…This thought usually leads to wonders like; how about “non tree apples” or “chicken flavored chicken” or “natural and artificial beef flavor”, and the always troubling “cheese food product”.
Makes me go….hmmmmmmm!
I was just on vacation with my family and we went to a few very upscale pie places—you know—$30.00 pies made with tons of fruit and various toppings. I am a pie freak and I had my freak on! We ordered many different slices so we could enjoy various tastes. The apple slice of pie looked great, very much like it should—crusty, carmelly, full of apples. I bit into a huge chunk and tasted nothing of the apple! Plenty of cinnamon, mace, allspice, nutmeg and other spices—
Where was the awesome apple taste?
This was a tragic example of too much “chef” in the pastry kitchen! Apples are born with simple, juicy, sweet, tangy, recognizable flavor—It is our job as cooks to respect that expected simplicity and just make that pie with maximum apple and a hint of sweet spices.
Why pick on the pie? You and I need to keep it simple when a lot of times we add, marinate, glaze, confuse and over-think lots of our perfect foods! Have you ever been in a Ferrari? Simple perfection—no air, no fancy buttons, no knobs—Just fire up and go! Simple and real as should be our food—Steak should taste like that…STEAK…peaches like peaches and salmon like fishy, delicate salmon!
I hear every day, “how do I grill a better steak?”, etc…My answer now has been “just relax and keep it simple!” Salt and pepper and olive oil and awesome technique! It is actually easy to keep it simple!
Every single time you put something in your pie hole, you should know what it is! How simple is that? Questions like who cooked this pizza, did this grow on a tree, and what did this animal eat before I ate it will naturally make you eat real and eat healthy! Coffee? CREAM! Ice cream? NOT LOW FAT! Beef? GRASS FED! Apple pie? REAL WHIPPED CREAM!
Eat real and keep it real!
The Dave