Fat is Flavor

Waste Not My Dear...Fat is Flavor

Sometimes throw a little fit when I see people toss spent olive oil (or after pouring too much, just the extra) down a drain. Regardless of the fact that pouring oil into our sewage system is horridly irresponsible, you're also wasting the building blocks of flavor. Never pour out that so called "waste." It is in fact, fatty and delicious. This leads to a second and probably more important point, fat is not bad-nearly every culture in the world eats foods that are laden with scrumptious fats, they just do it in a way that is totally different from our super size french fry culture. I lived in Italy a couple years ago, and I was amazed at how at every meal there was an element of fat beyond olive oil, usually cheese, cream, butter, and pork fat...yet the heart disease rate is miniscule compared to us here in the good ole U.S. Mediterraneans tend to eat smaller portions and a lot of veggies-you'll find that this blog attempts to follow their lead, I don't shy away from fatty foods, but I balance them by using them somewhat sparingly and loading my dishes with fresh veggies (specially the green ones).

Angry tirade about American's eating habits aside, don't waste what's left in the pan. I am always delighted when I make a dinner and I can use the same tablespoon of olive oil or butter over and over again. Once to sear some chicken, again to saute veggies, finally to make a sauce or gravy out of the tasty remnants.

Finally, if you happen to be cooking some pork products, don't even think about pouring bacon fat down the drain, cause that stuff is so delicious you can drink it. Ok, so maybe don't drink it, I think I would probably get an admonition from the Cardiologist Association of America if I seriously instructed you to do that (I may get one anyways!). The point is that something as naturally versatile and full of flavor as bacon fat should never go to waste. If you are using bacon for part of a dish, use the excess fat (and there is always a ton of it) for the rest of the meal-even dessert (kidding again...am I though?)

More recipes to come...you can chew the fat while you wait!