I’ve finally gotten around to teaching myself to cook. I don’t know how I put off learning kitchen skills for so long, but somehow it happened. Anyway, I just bought a food processor the other day and suddenly I feel like I can start advising reality TV show contestants on cooking. Food processing has that sort of affect on me.

Anyway, so I made this pesto with fresh basil and ridiculously expensive pine nuts the other day because there was a recipe for it in my food processor manual. So there I was eating some pasta and pesto and I realized that pesto has never really been something I gravitate toward when I go to an italian restaurant. Why had I actually spent time preparing pesto when there were so many other things I could have prepared that I would have enjoyed more? Uh, I didn’t know the answer to that. I think I was having some unrealistic basil fantasies or something at the time.

Anyway, so the whole thing got me thinking about how I wanted to approach recipes in my culinary learning process and that lead me to drawing up a list of things I like to eat. So I came up with a few food paths I want to go down:

Fennel seeds- I’ve always liked them. I love rye bread. I should figure out how to use them in recipes.

Bacon- It’s a great flavor. It also seems unforgiving. I need to figure out how to incorporate it into things.

Scallops- I love the texture of them and their subtle sweetness. I should find recipes and sauces for them.

Oregano, Basil, Parsely – They seem like the meat and potatoes of the spice rack, but I can’t argue with that. I like them.

Anyway, I could on about eggs, cheeses, red sauces, chiles, etc., but I’m really just using these food elements to point out that I’m defining some fundamentals for my kitchen. It seems to me that a lot of the Top Chefs lose track of their fundamentals. I think the best chefs stick with their basics, as best they can, and make sure everything is cooked properly. You might not have the tastiest dish, but don’t let anybody have an opportunity to criticize a dish for not being prepared properly. Okay, I have to get back to my food processor. Good luck. Oh, and by the way, I think you should stay away from ceviches. It seems like for every 5 ceviches 3 of them fail. And when they fail, they fail hard.