When I was becoming more of a chef than I line cook I was beginning to take on the tasks of writing my own menus. I was living in Key West at that juncture of my life. Key West was a great place to buy certain plants…. but unlike a city such as New York we didn’t have the exotic and rare places to obtain comestibles such as saffron in a wholesale size and thus no wholesale price. I was trying to follow the great Spanish cookbook author Penelope Casa’s recipe for paella and no substitutes would be sanctioned! I learned that the locally owned and family operated food store ‘Fausto’s’ did carry it but when I went looking I found none. I asked a clerk and he pointed me to the cashier. I walked over and feeling lost asked her where the saffron was kept. She lifted up her cash drawer and retrieved a tiny plastic pouch and said, “Here. With the money”. I got it and almost feeling like I’d just scored something illegal … headed back to my kitchen to proceed on the paella.
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Now it’s time to hit the ‘Listen on WLRN’ button at the top to hear the remainder of my show. ‘A Word On Food’ airs on WLRN every Saturday around 8:30 a.m. at 91.3 and also 91.5 on the radio. I want to thank so many of you who tell me in person how much you are enjoying the show!