A Kitchen in which to cook
Monday, October 8, 2007
Today I was on the set of one of the shows I work on, and in between takes, a writer and I sat and discussed recipes. We shared so many recipes and so many ideas for so much time that my mouth started to salivate. And I was reminded of one of the things that I love about Los Angeles. Kitchens (and a culture) conducive to cooking.
I love cooking. Love. It's therapeutic, it's artistic, it's delicious. And I didn't really do it in NYC. Every so often, one of my good friends blessed with a kitchen larger than a closet would have a few of us over and we'd make dinner and sit around and drink wine. And it was always fabulous and we always said we should do it more often and we didn't. My friend Kate had the most perfect dinner parties of all...sometimes it was a party of just the two of us...but I'll never forget that night of sea bass and cauliflower puree on the Upper West Side or the pasta with the truffle cream sauce in the West Village or the asparagus wrapped in prosciutto and excessive amounts of cheese and wine. Kate is an unbelievable cook. Especially because she's whimsical about it and she cooks without recipes and it's always, ALWAYS delicious. Uch. I miss Kate. But we still didn't cook often enough. Perhaps it was because there were so many fabulous restaurants to choose from or perhaps it was because even if the kitchen was large enough to cook in, the apartment was to small to fit a table at which to eat. And then factor in the lack of car to go to the grocery store...and dinner at one of the 7000 restaurants in the city sounded ideal.
But here, it's different. Here, I get to cook in a kitchen with counter space and a stove that's not ancient. I have a dining room table at which to serve my friends and an outdoor space to have cocktails and appetizers. I have a car to go pick up the groceries so that I can get as much as I need. I have a dishwasher to help me do my dishes.
I love planning menus - whether it's for 2 or for 20. I love entertaining and having people to our home. I love going outside for a moment and looking in - the laughter permeates the walls, the candles glow warmly through the curtains, and my friends sit inside enjoying good food, good wine, and each other. If I walked by our house on those nights, I would wish that I were inside...and I get to be.
I am often excessive. I had 2 friends over last April. We started with dates stuffed with parmesan and wrapped in prosciutto, then we had a grapefruit and avocado salad with a lemon vinaigrette. Next we had chicken stuffed with sundried tomatoes, artichokes and goat cheese and an arugula salad with shaved parmesan and balsamic vinaigrette. And we finished the night with chocolate chip cookies and vanilla icecream. All the while drinking endless amounts of wine. That sounds like enough food for 10 people - not three. But I'm Jewish. My point is, I'd never have cooked like that in New York. And it's one of the things that I truly love about LA.
Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 10:23 PM
Labels: food and drink
i insist you cook that dinner for me. sounds fucking fabulous