Читать книгу Everyday Gourmet - William Maltese - Страница 5

INTRODUCTION

As many who have traveled a good deal, and eaten a good deal, and drunk a good deal, I have a tendency to remember, and remember well, a good deal of those times in my life when I’ve experienced truly memorable dining experiences.

On such occasions, if the opportunity presented itself, I’ve been known to persuade the host, hostess, or their representatives in their respective kitchens, to part with the recipes for those items on their menus that I’ve particularly enjoyed, whether such culinary blueprints were merely jotted down on the spot, on wine-splotched coasters, or neatly printed out for me by computer and then mailed to me at some later date.

On many an occasion, however, for whatever the reason (secret family recipe, an improvising chef, too drunk to think straight, etcetera), I’ve found myself having left the scene of an event, savoring the experience of it, but without benefit of any physical recipe in-hand with which to recreate the memory at some later date. Therefore, I’ve found myself, often all on my own, working from memory, when attempting to replicate, in my own kitchen, some much-enjoyed item initially eaten elsewhere.

Not by way of bragging about my cooking expertise, taste buds, and keen sense of smell, but I have, more often than not, come pretty close to duplicating a good many of those dishes that I’ve set out to duplicate. Not by way of complaining about my lack of cooking expertise, taste buds, and keen sense of smell, but I have, on more occasions than I care to admit, ended up not quite satisfied.

When writing this book, I have, as in the past, called upon the expertise of my fellow gourmet, gourmand, and co-author, Bonnie Clark, and her husband Bruce, for whatever the necessary tweaking necessary to end up, as nearly as possible, with what I remember eating in the first place. Without their assistance and the skill-set of their cooking expertise, taste buds, and keen senses of smell, there’s no doubt in my mind that this book would have turned out far less satisfactory to me than it has. And for that, I extend to them my deepest heart-felt appreciation.