A Southwest Icon
There’s no better smell than the heady aroma of chiles roasting in the fall. As they hiss and pop and their skins wrinkle, then char and blacken, the toasty, grassy, vegetal scent intoxicates.
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Letter from the Publisher
Cooking is a Generous Act
Cooking Is a Generous Act.
In fact, I’d even go so far as to say that you can’t be a good cook if you don’t have a nurturing spirit. Food grudgingly prepared is never as good as sustenance proffered with an open heart.
This is nowhere more evident than the holiday meal. The cook plans, shops, preps and chops for days on end. All for a fleeting meal followed by a mountain of unwashed dishes, pots and pans, and diners who retreat to the den for the football game on TV.
But for the generous cook, it’s worth it. There’s joy in gathering friends and family around the table. Satisfaction in seeing familiar family dishes savored by the next generation. And reward in the stealthy return to the kitchen for a leftover turkey sandwich or one more slice of pie.
Even on a professional level a chef must, at a minimum, be moved by the spirit of hospitality, if not something greater.
We see it all the time in the Valley: in the welcoming smile of our favorite restaurant host, in the seemingly endless contributions made by local chefs to Valley fundraisers, in the creation of school gardens and in the many, many donations by community gardens, farmers, food banks and nonprofits to alleviate food insecurity.
As I write this, fires rage out of control in California. José Andrés, a chef that I admire greatly, is again mobilizing World Central Kitchen to provide resources and coordinate volunteers to feed those who have been displaced and the first responders. As is often the case, chefs are among the first in and the last to leave. You can support them and our California neighbors by making a donation at worldcentralkitchen.org.
This holiday season, be generous. And cook.
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