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I. I love to cook.

From scrambling an egg from my daughter in the morning to an elaborate multi-course celebration dinner,

the planning, preparation, and execution of a meal done well

is a great thrill for me.

But though my knife skills are impressive,

and I have a well-stock pantry and kitchen full of gadgets and utensils,

no amount of equipment or technique will help you make a meal better than better ingredients to.

For instance, if you really want a pasta of matricana that sings,

choose your ingredients carefully.

A bronze-cut semolina pasta, guanchali instead of bacon,

fresh-grated pecorina Romano instead of parm from a green can, whole San Marzano tomatoes

instead of industrial crushed. In a dish with only four ingredients, each one counts. But also,

every one of those ingredients has a story. I mean, how did Italy's pasta

culture even develop? Could it really be true that such iconic Italian cuisine is built

of noodles borrowed from China and tomatoes borrowed from the Aztecs? Even individual vegetables

have a fascinating history. Potatoes too came from the new world, so how did they become the staple

food crop for the Irish? Did you know that celery was once such a status symbol that stocks of

the stuff would be displayed by well-to-do households in dedicated celery vases? Ever since the

...