Chef Jamie Watson, Viking Cooking Class I like stuff. Any time I gain interest in a new hobby or sport I’m always fascinated by all the “stuff” that goes along with it. I’ve had an interest in learning real cooking skills for several years and would occasionally wander into a store and purchase kitchen utensils or gadgets in an attempt to make my limited recipes taste better – but who am I kidding – I like to play with the “stuff”. […]
I don’t know many people who don’t like great food, yet there are a few exceptions. I once had a colleague who viewed the consumption of food as a necessary evil he had to engage in two or three times a day to keep enough fuel in his body so he could think and work. As for the rest of us, we seem to enjoy our favorite foods in earnest. […]
The 2010 elections are now history and voters across Tennessee gave Republicans in the State House of Representatives an enormous and early Christmas gift – 64 out of 99 seats. In my opinion, the 2010 elections were the most important and significant elections in the last thirty years. No one, including the most astute political insiders, saw this large of a landslide coming. The Republican leadership in the House was predicting, or should I say, hoping for a post-election total of 55-56 seats, a majority large enough to allow Republicans to take control by electing the first Republican Speaker of the House actually elected by Republicans, since the early-seventies. However, this super-majority is a staggering victory and one that will most likely allow Republicans to control both the State House and Senate for the next decade; maybe the next several decades once redistricting takes place in 2011. […]
I don’t know about you, but I have an “ideal” daily routine that I fall into when I’m not traveling. Now that I’m writing more, I like to get up early and start working within thirty to forty-five minutes after my feet hit the floor – usually around six-fifteen to six-thirty…a.m. that is. Naturally, I need my first cup of coffee to stimulate the inner creativity that’s longing to move from my brain to my laptop. Fueled by two to three more cups of coffee, I’m usually productive until around noon or one in the afternoon. At that point my “creative” tank is close to empty as is my stomach. […]
…then get out of the kitchen. It’s a phrase intended to describe pressure, more specifically one’s inability to handle it. A fellow writer recommended a narrative book by journalist turned cook, Bill Buford entitled Heat: an Amateur’s Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany. If you love food and want to learn more about how your three star meal is prepared then you’ll enjoy every minute of this read. […]