Dues

My chosen fields always seem to require me to prove myself; to pay my dues. I start at the bottom, work my way up and hopefully gain respect and position. I must work the shit hours, get paid almost nothing, do the difficult or dirty work. I do these things because everyone does it. I do these things because it has to be done by somebody and it might as well be done by the least experience, the newest, the one who needs to show what he can do.

I went to school for Journalism and quickly learned I would learn nothing from school. This is not a knock against the school or my teachers, they tought me a lot and I'm happy with my alma mater. But what they really taught me was how to learn from experience. I rarely read a textbook or listened to a lecture. Every teacher kicked me out of the classroom and sent me on the hunt for a story. While this made my other classes more difficult (I still cannot, for the life of me, understand what a vector is or why I should care) it taught me to learn by doing and jump into a task with my whole body.

After school, I could do two things; move to the middle of nowhere and intern at a newspaper with readership around 100, or anything else. I chose the second option. I jumped into the kitchen, something I always thought about but never considered it possible. I still had to start at the bottom, I still had to do the worst jobs for the least pay in kitchens that weren't doing anything exciting. But at least I was feeding people.

Working more and more, meeting new people and (hopefully) showing them I can work, leads to bigger opertunities. And one day, maybe I'll start at a place not at the bottom, not as the FNG or kitchen bitch. (Although, I don't know if I'll ever feel any different) Some day I'll have paid my dues and gained respect and worked enough and learned enough to say to the wide-eyed newcomer "You think you've got it bad, back when I worked at . . . "

Garlic Soup

Recipe books are hardly page turners. You skim, you browse, you find something interesting and note it for later cooking, but you almost never read one. The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating is the exception. Fergus Henderson writes recipes the way recipes should be written. They aren't the normal dry, narrative essays that read like a third grade class wrote it. They're written naturally, with funny side notes, and turns of phrase that have no business being so good.

I was first introduced to this recipe book when my friend shoved it into my hands a few weeks ago, saying "Merry Christmas," (We seem to be trading meet related gifts back and forth. Pork related to be more spastic) I flipped through it, liked what I saw, but really only got a good look the other day. Reading though the stocks and starters and soups sections, I focussed in on a recipe for garlic soup. Intrigued, I set to work on it. A simple, albeit smelly, recipe. Simmer eight heads of garlic in two quarts stock until they are soft. Squish them through a sieve and reincorporate them into the stock. Small servings with a hunk of day old bread to sop up the soup. Use homemade stock when possible. I used store bought, which was a mistake. 

I woke up today a big ball of stink, but feeling more healthy. I didn't mind it. The soup was creamy with that subtle sweet that cooked garlic gets. I say embrace the stink. If anyone snickers, I've got some soup for them to try.