The secret of good cooking is, first, having a love of it… If you’re convinced that cooking is drudgery, you’re never going to be good at it, and you might as well warm up something frozen.
James BeardRead
Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts.
Interpretation
Good bread is a simple yet profound source of satisfaction and joy in food.
In this quote, James Beard emphasizes the fundamental comfort and pleasure that comes from quality bread, suggesting that it is not only a basic necessity but also a source of immense satisfaction when paired with something as simple as fresh butter. This highlights the idea that sometimes the most basic pleasures in life can provide the greatest joy, elevating everyday eating to the level of a feast.
In practice
During a family gathering where everyone shares their favorite dishes.
The secret of good cooking is, first, having a love of it… If you’re convinced that cooking is drudgery, you’re never going to be good at it, and you might as well warm up something frozen.
There is absolutely no substitute for the best. Good food cannot be made of inferior ingredients masked with high flavor. It is true thrift to use the best ingredients available and to waste nothing.
Food is our common ground, a universal experience.
A gourmet who thinks of calories is like a tart who looks at her watch.
The greatest lesson came with the realization that good food cannot be reduced to single ingredients. It requires a web of relationships to support it.
Our food chain is in crisis. Big agribusiness has made profits more important than your health—more important than the environment—more important than your right to know how your food is produced. But beneath the surface, a revolution is growing.
Wine is a living liquid containing no preservatives. Its life cycle comprises youth, maturity, old age, and death. When not treated with reasonable respect it will sicken and die.
With enough butter, anything is good
I always give my bird a generous butter massage before I put it in the oven. Why? Because I think the chicken likes it -- and, more important, I like to give it.
Because of media hype and woefully inadequate information, too many people nowadays are deathly afraid of their food, and what does fear of food do to the digestive system? ... I, for one, would much rather swoon over a few thin slices of prime beefsteak, or one small serving of chocolate mousse, or a sliver of foie gras than indulge to the full on such nonentities as fat-free gelatin puddings.
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