Retrospective, Part 1

Look, I don't know you and you don't know me. I doubt you came in here with the dedicated purpose of finding this webpage. You probably happened in here because you were seeking something that had to do with food. Maybe you were scanning the internet for some of those pretty pictures of stuff other people with camera's made. It happens a lot, so I'm not judging you for it. Or perhaps, you like many were seeking some kind of information on how to cook better, be it through recipe, formula, or just a need to get inspired about what to have for dinner.

Either way, here you are.

And while you're here, you've probably see the picture up top of the guy with the 14-inch saute pan, and figure he's probably compensating for something (and you'd probably be right!) Then you probably looked at the picture to the immediate right and saw an angry looking guy in chef whites and figured "Eh, probably another pretentious blowhard thinking he's some food guru. Last thing I need is someone who thinks they have all the answers to what I should be putting in my mouth."

And you know what? You are absolutely right. The last thing anybody out there needs is someone telling them how to eat.

For anyone in the know, certain culinary individuals, and of course we won't say who, have been making a lot of assumptions about you. About your lifestyle, about how you eat, and how you're supposed to eat. I take some offense to this, since this article refers to me as well, and this person knows me about as much as he knows you. And just to be clear, despite the fact that I occasionally get to wear this nifty white outfit and happen to share some of the same background as the person in question, he doesn't know me.

And I realize that I don't know you either. But I'd like to.

When I created this blog, my intent was clear: Don't feed anyone who reads it a bunch of shiny useless photographs coupled with excessive recipes spawned from my overactive imagination. Let this be a place where people can learn to be better cooks, and maybe even get inspired to do it more often.

I stand closer to my mission statement now more than ever.

As I've become more acquainted with culinary (I won't say competent, that may be asking a bit much) I've seen many an unsettling trend. On the one side, you've got the entertainers. People who stare in food-based programming, and are expected to whip out anything from one to several recipes in a single sitting, all the while being big toothed and wide eyed while they do it. Once a great source of inspiration for the home cook, now they seem to be focusing more on their hair and wacky antics, than they do on delivering a meal that someone can prepare.

On the other side rests the intellectuals. People in the know who are either established with, or well known by, the culinary profession. These folks post lengthy articles on quality eating establishments, and fantastical recipes that look great on glossy pictures, but tend to fall on the outskirts of what a person is capable of cooking. Then they talk loud and proud about the majesties of cooking one's own food, and denounce those who don't do it. "Food magazines are going out of print," they cry "It's because people don't cook any more." The collective pats themselves on the back, as the cry of the Waahmbulance is heard across the blogosphere.

All the while, good people are still left trying to figure out how to put something good on the plate.

Look, I understand you're busy. I understand that sometimes it's easier to grab some take out and not bother with dinner. And I also understand that somewhere along the line, making a meal got very confusing. I can't free up your schedules for you, and I can't force you into your kitchens to make dinner. And though I once got a little berating at those who weren't cooking for themselves, I reckon I've matured a bit to see past that, and will try to look at this with new eyes. And those new eyes have only one question for you out there:

Do you want to cook? Despite the pressures of time and responsibilities, would you like to make more meals for yourself? If the answer is no, then please, by all means, navigate away from this page. Your life is yours, and you should lead it way you want to. No harm no foul.

If you said yes, then let's see if we can help each other out.

CSD Is Dead! Long Live The Savage Kitchen!

In a brutal and grotesque fit, I terminated the short-lived food blog known as CSD Foodstuffs with extreme prejudice. It was a quiet death, which was fitting since CSD lived a relatively quiet life. A multitude of issues concerning direction and identity kept this little blog that could from reaching worldwide appeal. And let's face it, the name was a mouthful. CSD Foodstuffs, it kind of sounds like the textbook you find in the bargain bin at the local Borders. Certainly nothing a person inspired by it's ramblings would feel good telling someone else about. It was doomed from the start, dead man walking and all of that.

But, like a bad horror film, the beast always rises again. And from the bland and colorless ashes of CSD arises the Savage Kitchen. A blog committed to the same ideals as CSD, but with a bit more of the patented "charming fury" I'm so known for. So from here on out, whenever I refer to this blog, I will be referring to The Savage Kitchen. Any posts from beyond this date that I previously referred to CSD Foodstuffs will now be referring to The Savage Kitchen. Get it? Got it? Good.

With the change in name and style, comes the newfound change in attitude. We still love food here like any good food blog, and we still cook as much as possible, but we do not treat our meal like a hobby. This is not something we do to kill time or amuse ourselves, food is life people! We do it or we starve. And for too long we've let other people govern our lives. The huge food conglomerates who feed us chemically altered patties than once resembled cows, the chirpy food cooks on Food Network who spend more time smiling in your face than showing you how to cook, and the multitudes of food blogs out there of people showing pretty pictures of their creations. These things do not sustain.

Our life is in our hands people. We decide what goes into our mouths and keeps us warm and well fed. And if we can desire a food, then we can make it. I have no doubt in my mind that each and every one of you out there is capable of making a superb meal that costs significantly less than what you'd pay at a restaurant, and will treat your body better than anything on the dollar menus of the world.

The desire to do so is yours. The ideals necessary to put those desires to the test? Well, that's where we come in. CSD Foodstuffs is dead, long live The Savage Kitchen.

Editor's Dilemma

So I'm sitting on a bit of a conundrum here.

On the one hand, I really wanted CSD to be an open venue. This was never designed to be a blog that catered to an age group or demographic. I wanted all takers to come in here and partake of all things food. Whether you're a housewife or grad student, consummate professional or occasional home cook, I wanted you to feel welcome. Take in some of what I've learned, and what I'm still learning, and hope that it somehow gets you pumped up to spend a bit more time in your own kitchens.

Now on the other hand, I'm an outspoken fiend with a tendency to be over-the-top with what I write on a page. Anyone who knows me, and anyone who's ever read even a few paragraphs of what I talk about, knows that I'm quite the animated chap. I talk too loud for too long, bouncing between Hunter Thompson-esque hysteria and Henry Rollins-esque aggressiveness. I am, for all intensive purposes, an unapologetic handful.

Stranger still, is the fact that I actually teach this way too. Put me in front of an eager group to learn, and I'm a madman. I will neglect resources designed to make my job easier if I think I can do it better, comment loudly on my displeasure with certain bits of "required curriculum," and find every possible way to cram information that I think is necessary into my students. Even if it means talking for far longer than anyone else of my ilk would, That's what I'll do. And I do it because I want my students to walk away understanding what I teach. Not just the buzz words that appear on the test, but why those things are important in the first place. Understanding means memory retention, people are more likely to remember things if they understand why they're done. But it also means confidence. And confidence is a powerful force when you're learning something.

This blog by it's very design, is an educational resource. A place where I wanted people of all walks of life to come to, read a bit, then wander into their own kitchens excited to create. As such, I've been very neutral in my posts, not wanting to offend anyone who might stumble on to this blog looking for a little culinary amusement. I have sat staring at the screen for many a night, trying to think of new ways to word things so that everyone feels at home. In a sense, I've gotten a bit "textbook" with these first few posts, basically turning everything I write into something you'd find in a cooking book at an elementary school library.

My tension with having to write posts in this neutral state has made it hard to actually write anything. Words tend to come pretty naturally to me (obviously,) but I've really never been one who's had to calculate how I say things. I've been lucky enough to get by without ever having to. And now, putting myself in a position where I have to select my words and rethink everything I would normally right, it just takes the wind out of my sails.

In the end, I just gotta be me.

So, after a very long spell of not writing for CSD, I am back at the helm, this time speaking the only way I know how to speak. The posts from here on out may get a bit cynical, possibly even a trifle snarky, but they will be passionate.

For those of you new newcomers who swing by this page and find my writing a bit strong, please don't be offended. I'm not mad at you, nor am I picking on you. I welcome your presence, your comments, and most importantly, the fact that you want to develop your skills in the kitchen. And hopefully, once you get past the wisecracks and dark attitude, you'll find someone that, much like yourselves, just likes to cook.

-Editor In Chief-

Welcome To CSD

So, you've been wanting to cook have you?

Of course you have. Why else would you find yourself on this little website if a little culinary know-how wasn't on your mind? These days it seems like a lot of people are doing it. Many food based publications are considering it the new trend, and you the phrase "Staying home is the new eating out," has been thrown out on more than one occasion. Frankly, I'm not sure how I feel about something so integral to our culture and health as cooking for ourselves only recently becoming popular because of trends, but I'm just glad it's finally starting to happen.

Cooking for yourself is a thing of beauty. The simple act of stepping into one's kitchen and preparing a meal can go beyond sheer sustenance. Why, just the act of cooking can help relieve stress, inspire creativity, unite the family, and of course the end result of cooking is usually the eating, which isn't too bad either. The transformation of raw naturally produced materials into something so satisfying just by applying some heat can be astounding. It's a freakish science that few can explain, but all can enjoy.

And I won't lie to you, it will be tough. Cooking definitely comes with it's own bag of challenges. Bear in mind, we're dealing with unique equipment here, and raw ingredients that seem to change into something else when you warm them up. There's a reasonably high likelihood of failure here, and if one isn't careful, you could have a pile of over-salted, overcooked, bad tasting mush on your plate when all is said and done.

This is probably why you haven't been doing it right? You're a hungry person and really don't want to risk your precious time making something that's just gonna taste awful. It's been a lot easier to let someone else do it for you and guarantee the results. The programming on Food Network probably hasn't made it any easier. Oh sure, there are plenty of smiling faces shoving moderately attractive food into the camera, but it's nothing that's inspired you to get in your kitchen and make something.So where can a hungry, confused soul go to learn a few things about food, and maybe get inspired?

Well, why not start here?

CSD Foodstuffs was not designed to be the kind of places that waxes poetically about overpriced ingredients like truffles or saffron, it's not a place that highlights the top names in high-cost kitchen gear, nor is it about showing off wonderous picture of food that other people have made.

We're here to talk about cooking at it's most basic level. CSD Foodstuffs acknowledges that you are an intelligent person and already have some experience with cooking. Perhaps you're not a culinary pioneer (yet,) but you certainly know how things work. And we've all got culinary history built into us through mothers and grandmothers who've had specialty recipes that excited us every time they were whipped up. And, considering how much we eat, we've got plenty of experience with the subject matter to know what tastes good. Humans are loaded with taste-buds and, assuming they haven’t been burned off with fast food yet, tend use them every single day. So this blog isn’t here to sell you a bunch of garbage you don’t need or load you up with recipe cards you’ll never use. No, we are here to inspire, and to educate. To provide you with the foundation to make any meal you make into something killer, and to create the desire to make those meals more often. We are here to cook.

So, get ready for a thrill ride into a culinary nirvana, spawned by your own two hands. It is time to cook something damnit!