Izu Cooks is a work in progress where I hope to offer some cooking links, some recipes and possibly some philosophy of cooking as a hobby
. The recipes included will be of necessity somewhat inexact because my personal belief is that in the kitchen, the tongue, the nose and the eye must be the final determinators of the finished product. I try to taste, smell and see what I'm doing as I go along and the recipes reflect this somewhat haphazard, but generally successful approach.
In creating a dish or meal, I tend to let the ingredients determine the direction of the day. Rarely do I begin with more than a vague idea that carrots might look good today or I that heard the fishermen brought back some nice swordfish.
Freshness is the most important starting point for every meal and even if I go to the market looking for salmon steaks, I can just easily come home with eggplants and tomatoes because they had the most appeal in the market itself.
The tiny ravioli in the pasta section came about simply because some of our guests for dinner that night were vegetarian, the shop had some black olive paste in stock and the butcher was featuring a just-started Italian air-dried ham (prosciutto crudo) that offered the beginnings of the fillings for the non-veggie ravioli.
Fresh swordfish, or a plump chicken, almost always get me thinking, and buying, and several recipes reflect this bias toward firm fish and fresh poultry.
I hope the recipes are interesting and I do strongly recommend the knives from Due Buoi - they fit the hand perfectly, are reasonably priced and the service from Mr. Centa is excellent. I have been using two sets of these knives for more than a decade now and every one of them has served its purpose excellently. I have had them professionally sharpened once or twice since my purchase - once every five-seven years - a record I believe to be exemplary. Regular sharpening with the steel keeps them keen for years.