Recipes & Dishes

I have found a new podcast that I like, and am happy to share it with you now: Dialectic, which features long-form interviews led by Jackson Dahl with original people, across technology, media, business, and creativity. Earlier this week, in this conversation with philosopher C. Thi Nguyen, a metaphor arose that is my focus this essay. It is this: the distinction between Recipes and Dishes.

Food writer John Thorne is attributed with identifying this distinction. He says a recipe is a dead thing, a writing down of how something was made by someone once. And a dish is a live thing, an idea of balance in a creative cook’s head that gets remade anew each time. Creative cooks who are making dishes are typically better cooks.

It would be easy to interpret this observation as a judgment of recipes as being inferior. I do not embrace this interpretation, though I do agree with the distinction between recipes and dishes. I think that recipes play an important role in developing cooks. Countless are the times that I have sought out the perfect recipe, with the intention of creating the platonic ideal of a meal for friends and family. Cooking enough good recipes gives cooks the opportunity to learn the foundational principles underpinning them. It is the application of these principles that allows a cook to produce a Dish. Some of the best food I have ever made was done as improvisation, taking what was on hand and making it delicious by applying the principles I had gleaned from cooking good recipes over the years.

We often are eager to simply cut to the chase. Give me the outcome! Instead of reading the book, we choose to read the synopsis. Instead of building wealth by creating value for others, we play the lottery, or run a scam. Instead of using our immense power and influence to create lasting peace in the world, we accept someone else’s peace prize and hang it on our wall.

We lose sight of the value of the journey to the outcome. We must cook a lot of recipes before our dishes are consistently delicious. We must read a lot of books before we can write something compelling. We must serve others to build our net worth and our reputation.

The process of skill refinement, even if we never end up more than average, is valuable in and of itself. Pick a journey that looks interesting, and take the first step. Get in the weeds, dig into the nitty-gritty, and occasionally climb a tree to gain a higher-level perspective. Make sure the journey continues to be the right one for you. And just keep acquiring a deep understanding of foundational principles. It will serve you well.

Tangent: We were served extremely well by the staff at Agni Friday night. It was our first visit, to celebrate Frederick’s recent graduation from Case Western University. The tasting menu is pricey, but worth it. Consider it for your next milestone celebration. (Insider tip - if you can get a seat at the bar, the bar menu is fantastic and easier on your wallet.)

Sunday Supper

This Salmon w/ Braised Lentils will keep me on-track with my post-holiday dietary intentions. So too will these Chicken Pesto Meatballs. Teriyaki Tofu Bowls w/ Kimchi Mayo sound great. And these Breakfast Burritos look like a good way to start my day.

Sunday Music

Dolly Parton leads us forward with some of her friends in this rendition of Light Of A Clear Blue Morning. Here are the Jazzbois at the Village Underground London from this past November. Check out these kids who showed up at the NPR Tiny Desk. Lastly, here is Ana Vidovic performing classical guitar. Enjoy!

If you know anyone who might like this essay, please share it with them. 



Have a great week ahead!  You can do anything you set your mind to. Let me know how I can help.


Peace & Love,