Valerie's Right, You know

Garlic and Rosemary Focaccia

 A lifetime ago, I was afraid of bread. Bread-making, anyway.

I called it 'yestaphobia'.  

No one in my life made bread. We bought the stuff from the store.  At home, it was whole wheat. My grandparents got either the grocery bakery 'Italian' loaf or something akin to Wonder Bread.

Before I moved to California, the only 'bread' I'd baked contained bananas.

But I was living in a new place. A city that still felt small-ish. And I was being exposed to all sorts of interesting and new foods. 

At the same time, I had access to this new and wondrous thing called The Food Network. 

It was eye-opening.  Cooks and chefs, of all backgrounds, were spending half hours showing people like me how to make...everything.

Jacques Torres and Gale Gand taught me about chocolate and pastry. Aaron Sanchez and his friends introduced me to dishes I'd never heard of before.

I still make Emeril's jambalaya, at least twice a year.

Chiarello's paella still makes an appearance on the menu from time to time.

And Jamie Oliver (before he became insufferable and impossible to watch) took me through the steps to make focaccia. 

We would occasionally pick up a loaf from one of the bougie shops in our neighborhood - I'd never seen anything like it back home.  And I loved it.

I was already teaching myself how to cook and bake, well, all the things.  Why not this?

I printed out the recipe, and with great trepidation, attempted to make bread.

...there were failures.

I'd never worked with yeast before. Let's just say there many trials and errors, 'k?

But the first time I pulled a pan of golden, fragrant bread from the oven...I wish I could bottle that feeling. Euphoric. 

I can now make this recipe without the recipe.  It's been 24 years, and I still come back to it.

It's like a foodie friend that I don't see often, but when we get together, it's as if no time has passed.  Comfortable.

I learned a lot during those early Food Network years. Those programs showed me what was out there in the food world, and helped me be brave enough to try it.

I stopped watching the channel some years ago.  The style of food being presented, along with all the competitions, felt very 'not for me'. 

Which is sad, because those early programs were my home-based cooking school.  My foodie travel guide.  I learned so much.

Like Valerie said after her firing, it's not about cooking and learning anymore. 

What a loss.