Why we cook?

Why did we choose this life? Was it even our choice? Over the last 13 years, I've found myself asking these questions time and time again. It's not always easy. The hours suck. The pay sucks. The conditions and physical demands often suck. The stress makes you crazy. But in the most hectic of times, the ticket machine vomiting out dups, smoke, flame, heat, yelling, whipping around like a speed freak....everything slows down, almost stops completely, to balance a beautifully seared scallop on a line of brunois vegg and morels, or ladle veal jus over a piece of shortrib that just came out of an 18 hour bath in chianti......and it's fucking...Zen. Or perfection I guess. For just a few seconds, the world is perfect. And the goal...hopefully some of that moment is still in that plate of food when somebody tears into it. That's why I cook.
Pick (chris) put this blog together and asked me to share. I think it's awesome. The three of us have very different approaches to food which makes this concept even more interesting. Anyways, let's talk food. The picture is of a twisted up version of Pho I did for Brennan's wife's b-day dinner. I'd get into the specifics of it but maybe later. I gotta throw out an idea I have for my wife's b-day dinner. We ate at Katz's Deli in NYC a few weeks back. Their reuben, a $16 reuben was unreal. As I gorged myself I thought about deconstructing it and dropping it in Italy. That sat in my head for a few weeks and I started experimenting with making pastrami. Here's the dish so far: pastrami cured duck breast, caraway pasta (fettucini or ravioli)....I'm still juggling the russian/sauerkraut/swiss. Maybe put a raw egg yolk in the ravioli so when you cut it and mix, there's the sauce. So..... I'll keep up with the evolution of the dish and also post pics of the new cheese I got aging in the beer fridge. See ya...