Defining Your Terms
OR
Good Food
I love good food. I love exquisite dishes perfectly complemented by cleverly chosen spices and herbs. I love simple offerings that are made excellent by dint of superior ingredients. But my admittedly broad definition of good food goes beyond herbs spices and ingredients, and the city where I live, in some ways, shares my democratic culinary standards. Here in NYC good food can be outrageously expensive, but long, long lines at street meat trucks and the semi-regular “best hot dog” and “killer knish” contests in various newspapers and blogs prove that good food comes at every price point. However, there are meals I unabashedly put in the “good food” category that still raise a few eyebrows among foodie friends. I’m talking about meals I ate growing up that I can’t find in any restaurant in the city. Meals like Cheeseburger Pie that inspired my husband to refer to me as his favorite square-stater. (I’m from Ohio; he’s not so lucky.)
I’ve never been a cook, but like I said, some of my comfort food cravings can only be satisfied if I take to the kitchen myself and that’s how I first ended up over a simmering pot of Mom’s Spaghetti. It has chili powder. Most recipes passed down from her West Virginian mother do. I have an uncle who calls it Hillbilly spaghetti, but that guy married into the family and has a very narrow definition of meat sauce. Anyway. I wanted Mom’s Spaghetti. I made it, and the next time I lost a bet with my brother, I had to pay in sauce because once he found out I could pull it off, that was more valuable than even cold, hard cash.
Years later, I’ve learned to make other stuff that fits neatly into even the most narrow definition of good food. Take Chicken with Caramelized Onions, Glazed Figs and Pomegranate from the Oldways Table cookbook, for instance. Sometimes, though, a childhood basic like Mom’s Spaghetti, or Cheeseburger Pie tastes better than any so-called good food. It tastes like dinner with my family at 6:30 pm with the TV off, served as often as not with a salad consisting of iceberg lettuce, ripped up American cheese slices, a tomato wedge dressed with Seven Seas Viva Italian from Kraft. Kind of square and Square Stateish, but kind of awesome. Especially when I know I can go out for Tikka Masala tomorrow and amazing yellowfin king fish the night after that. Woman cannot live by Cheeseburger Pie and chili powder alone.