Meet Joe. He’s our next subject in the Men in the Kitchen Series. Joe is a typical suburban dad busy with the challenges of making a living and keeping two teenagers fed on a daily basis. When he’s not doing that he works on song writing, recording and perfecting his impressive skill set on the guitar. Joe’s other half has varied interests including a full time job in which she’s more often designing kitchens than cooking in them. In addition, since Joe gets home from work first, the task frequently falls to him. Here’s what he had to say about being in the kitchen:
KFL: How often do you cook and what is your specialty? Joe: I usually end up cooking 3-4 times a week. I don’t mind the cooking, it’s the meal planning that’s the real challenge. With two picky teenagers who, naturally, don’t enjoy the same cuisine, it’s rough. Thankfully my wife will usually sit down at some point during the weekend and put together our menu for the coming week. She uses the internet, old tried and true recipes and our favorite go to source, Cooking Light Magazine. From this we make our shopping list .. She usually cooks on the weekend but it falls to me on weekdays. As far as specialties, I’m pretty good at whipping up a stir-fry with whatever happens to be around and I've been told my eggplant Parmesan is pretty awesome! 
KFL: What are the top 3 tools you can't live without in the kitchen?Joe: I would say a large cutting board, a large skillet and that really good quality sharp knife that everyone seems to be mentioning. I can prepare most things I cook with those three things.
KFL: If you could change one thing about your kitchen, what would it be? Joe: That’s and easy one, counter space! When the wife and I cook together we do the dance, shifting back and forth to allow one another access to drawers, spices etc. It’s difficult but I think we've gotten it down to a fine art.KFL: How did you learn to cook?Joe: I hate to say it, but I didn’t learn to cook until I got divorced. My whole world changed in many ways including this one. This is a good case of necessity being the mother of invention.KFL: Is cooking a pleasure or just a necessity?Joe: Cooking can be a chore but I love to cook with my wife. As long as my better half handles the meal planning it’s not bad at all. Next up: An Astonishing Kitchen Transformation, I’ll Show You How We Did It.
Men in the Kitchen: The Gen "Y" Guy
This week's post in the series "Men in the Kitchen" features Graham, a twenty-something, Gen Y bachelor. Graham currently lives in a rental apartment, works full time as an "expert" for Apple and is pursuing his Master's degree at Florida International University. Admittedly, it doesn't give him much time to cook but he says it's something he'd like to do more of at some point. Here's what he has to say about cooking from his own unique perspective:KFL: How often do you cook and what is your specialty?Graham: Pasta Bolognese, and I cook perhaps 2 times a week. Since I don't have a lot of time for meal planning and cooking, I like to cook things that will give me leftovers for the rest of the week. I enjoy pasta and it's perfect for that.
KFL: What are the top three tools you can't live without in the kitchen?Graham: Microwave oven, tongs, and a good knife. The microwave is a must for those leftovers I mentioned. Tongs are the perfect tool for so many things from serving salad to pasta to cooking bacon. Then a good knife is a no-brainer and I think that's going to make everyone's list! Another gadget I use a lot is my Sodastream. If you like bubbles, this allows you to make just about any drink into soda. It saves me money on beverages too.
KFL: If you could change one thing about your kitchen, what would it be?Graham: I would update it! Since I live in an apartment the style of the kitchen is a bit reminiscent of the 80's. Though I'm also a product of the 80s, it's not necessarily what I'd like as my kitchen. I can't update it but I add personal elements here and there to make it my own. When I buy my own home, hopefully in the next 5 years or so, it will be important to me to have an open plan kitchen so I can interact with the rest of the house while I'm cooking. My current apartment does have a pantry which I'm loving. My goal is to invest in some really nice containers so I can organize everything to keep food fresh. Since I'm usually cooking for one, I end up storing a lot of opened ingredients.
KFL: How did you learn to cook?
Graham: My parents and through video cookbooks. My dad was a great cook, very inventive and then when my parents divorced my mom got more into cooking so there were some things I got from her too. The biggest thing I remember my dad teaching me was to clean up as you cook! Great advice I will never forget. He also made the best chili which I am still trying to perfect. I find video cookbooks to be a great source of inspiration. Sometimes I follow them but I also use them as an incentive to come up with my own recipes. I use the Video Cookbook App on my ipad. Allrecipes.com also has a video cookbook app that you can get for free on the iphone.
Williams Sonoma offers a whole line of ipad compatible smart tools for the kitchen. You can read more about them here.
KFL: Is cooking a pleasure or just a necessity?
It can be both, but that depends how I feel at the time. If I am cooking for someone I enjoy it. It's fun to try new things and test the results but sometimes I wish a home cooked dinner was waiting for me when I get home. I still do get that from mom when I visit.
There you have it! Interesting how cooking is being influenced by technology and now the digital world. I guess it started with the microwave and today people are bringing their ipads into the kitchen!
Next up: Meet Barry, a man who's cooking Viva Las Vegas style!
Men in the Kitchen: Compact Cooking
Today KFL looks at the first in our series "Men in the Kitchen". A small city kitchen requires lots of planning and organization but that doesn't hold this guy back. Meet Tim, an enthusiastic resident of Manhattan for over 25 years. When I asked him why he left his native Mid-west for the Big Apple, he said, "I moved here because I was fascinated with NYC from the first time I visited, as a teenager, and knew I had to be in the middle of such an energetic, dynamic city.
Since then he has never looked back. Tim, his wife of ten years and their two kitties have learned how to live "compact" in their cozy Manhattan apartment. Every Saturday night Face Book friends eagerly await "THE MENU" when Tim posts the results of his vegetarian kitchen creations. A typical post goes like this:Tonight's menu: peppery pitted Greek olives; blanched green beans tossed in garlic, butter & smoked salt; rigatoni alla norma; an Italian pinot; dark chocolate & coconut flake squares. Come on over. I don't know if anyone has ever taken him up on the "come on over" but I have a feeling it going to happen very soon.Here's what he had to say:KFL: How often do you cook and what is your specialty?Tim: I cook, on average, 5 days a week. My specialty--difficult to answer because there's not just one. I like to think I'm pretty good at several dishes, rather than just one. So I will always go back to one of those several when I need a crowd pleaser.
K FL: What are the top 3 tools you can't live without in the kitchen?
Tim: Utility scissors. There isn't a day that goes by when I don't need them in the kitchen, and anyone who says they don't need them is crazy. Whether it's for opening difficult food packages, cutting through thick bunches of greens, cutting a pizza into slices or snipping fresh herbs, I need them. Secondly, I love my razor-sharp, forged steel chef's knife- duh! My Henckels Pro S-Class Chef's Knife is my best friend, except for my wife!
Thirdly, I cannot live without my Zojirushi Rice Cooker. Add the rice, add the water, add the herbs/spices, push the buttom and forget about it (as we say in NY). Perfect rice every single time--not too dry, not too soggy, just right. Plus it keeps it that way for hours after it's cooked. This thing has changed my life, I am so not joking!
KFL: If you could change one thing about your kitchen, what would it be?
Tim:Much, much, much, much more counter space.
KFL: How did you learn to cook?
Tim: On weekends, I would sometimes get bored. I would tell my mom that and ask her what I could do for fun. She would tell me to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies or some other baked sweet. She'd tell me to read the directions, figure it out and if I had any questions she would answer them. Sometimes she'd ask me to help her with making dinner that night, so I often did.
KFL: Is cooking a pleasure or just a necessity?
Tim: Nothing but pleasure.
City cooking aficionados like Tim deal with limited storage by shopping for fresh ingredients each day instead of stocking up. Last year with the cooperation of their landlord they were able to add an 18" dishwasher by eliminating a cabinet. Even though they lost the storage it was worth it. At the same time they added some accessories to an existing pantry so they were able to make up some of that lost space with more functionality. More counter space remains elusive.
Men in the Kitchen
Circa 1954, Betty is in the kitchen, apron tied just right. Pearls in place. She’s the queen of her domain turning out pineapple upside down cakes while her hubs brings home the bacon (for her to cook).
In most cultures throughout history, the heart of the home has been a woman’s domain. Even today though roles have shifted and functions of the kitchen have changed, it’s the woman who usually makes the decisions when it comes to the kitchen. I say USUALLY because even 10 or 15 years ago the man of the house only had a voice when it came to his office or his bar, now he is collaborating on the design of the kitchen. It was going to happen sooner or later. According to this article by The Wall Street Journal, the men are catching up and we're letting them. I wonder why it is that the upper echelons of “chefdom” belong to men but the foot soldiers of meal preparation are the women churning out meal after meal in middle America and beyond? Perhaps it's time to sit back and let the boys pamper us. Truth be told I have always aligned myself with men who know their way around the kitchen.
Now that I've got your attention, over the next few posts we will be examining the elusive phenomenon known as "men in the kitchen". We will look at a man navigating the challenges of a tiny city kitchen, the suburban family guy in the kitchen, the Gen Y bachelor and even and up and coming professional chef ! Good? Yes I knew you were in the mood for something completely different. Oh and by the way if you like the photo above it's available as wall paper here and is courtesy of wallsave.com. Next Up: How a man cooks in the city that never sleeps...