Hats off to Tristan!

Over the weekend, Tristan Rhodes posted about meals with only three ingredients. The only part of his post that I don't agree with is his suggestion that such a thing is culinary blasphemy. Nonsense! If there was something wrong with creating a dish with only three ingredients, would peanut butter and jelly sandwiches have been a staple for so long? What about tossing pasta in alfredo sauce and adding chicken to it? It's one of my all-time favorite dishes. What's more, I truly believe that the ability to compose a meal that is enjoyable and edifying is truly a great talent. So maybe you won't be making the cover of Art Culinaire anytime soon. Who cares? If the stomachs and tastebuds of you and/or your guests are happy, that's the important thing.

So hats off to Tristan. There are more than just a few days when I look in my pantry and wonder just what the heck I'm going to feed myself. That's because I have all sorts of ideas running through my mind about presentation and flavor profiles and making up new recipes. From the sounds of it, Tristan could just walk in, grab three cans or boxes, and come up with something really good while I stood there and wondered whether black or pinto beans would better fit some kind of arbitrary regionality or something. There's something to be said for that.