"If you know it, SHOW it"

The title of the entry today comes from an old, schmaltzy favorite song of mine, by Stephen Bishop, called "On and On" . In the last half of the song, he gives some really good advice about what to do when you know you love somebody: "If you know it, show it." He goes on after that, but that's a subject for another day.

"If you know it, show it." Everyone who reads this and cooks, take note of this. It's not advice. It's an order. And I'll tell you why. In brief, you can write all the recipes you want, all the blogs you have strength for, and talk and yak and yak and talk, but you will only be effective as a teacher if you SHOW someone what you KNOW.

I got this really strong this weekend. I taught two friends how to make pizza. From scratch. Using the recipe I give in another blog, using the tomato sauce I give in another blog, and using my noggin. Like I said, I have tons of fancy equipment for making pizza. These folks don't. I love pizza, so do these folks. Pizza you make at home is better than storebought, period.

And I can guarantee you that if I had taken those blogs, covered them in gold leaf, wrapped them in fancy paper and kissed them with bright pink lipstick, these folks would NEVER MAKE THEIR OWN PIZZA. Now they may. And it's not just an option to teach people how to cook: it's a duty. At least that's my feeling.

And you know what? You get more out of it than just satisfaction. You learn something. By going over all of the steps that I take for granted, and do mechanically, I found that there were things I could improve. And last night, making a pizza for me and the fabulous second tenor who is such a part of my life, I used what I learned. And the pizza was better. Know what I learned? You don't have to be a fussbudget about the crust. Handle it as little as possible. It's better that way. And I probably learned more things that I will realize at another time.

So "if you know it, SHOW it. " And tell me what you wanna learn. If I know it, I will show it. That's a promise.

The pizza I made last night involved artichokes. I still had some of the marvelous artichokes that Sandra "La regina di carciofini" had sent me, and I wanted to use them. So, with brutal efficiency, I dispatched them in the way that I had for the artichoke compote, and used those as a pizza topping, using the standard "pizza margherita" combination of sauce, mozzarella, and a sprinkle of parmesan at the end.

What else did I learn? Well, anyone who ever complains that artichokes are too expensive better not be around me when they say it. I can buy a package of frozen artichokes for 2.49. There will probably be about six or seven artichokes in total in that box. Go ahead into the kitchen now, and clean seven artichokes to the specs of the ones you bought frozen. Was that 2.50 worth of your time? Uh huh. And what about the farmer, who grew them, the packer, and so on and so forth.

So, folks, something else I learn everytime I work with good ingredients. Don't kvetch about what it costs. Be glad someone did the work for you. I could never have grown those babies. I did the easy part. And if someone else is doing the hard part for you, it's yet another reason why you should show it.

Bring someone into your kitchen. Show him or her how to make your specialty. You'll make a friend for life.