Back to the future with Terry Boyd, Author of Blue Kitchen

Chicago resident Terry Boyd has managed to be lucky enough to adventure through life on a few career paths, from acting as a college art instructor to a trade paper editing and as an advertising creative director, but it has been his love for food that has given him the most pleasure.
Providing more proof you don't need to be a professional to share you love for food, he started his own beautiful food blog called Blue Kitchen. www.blue-kitchen.com. Which is about Making it, eating it, thinking about it and talking about it. It’s not about precious food, though. He loves to cook, but is not obsessed with it. You won’t find recipes on there that involve two dozen esoteric ingredients or require you to start making something three days before you plan to serve it.

CMW: We love the beauty and simplicity of your food, it is right up our alley. Tell us a bit about your style and what drives it.
TB: Thanks! I think you've captured some of Blue Kitchen's style with your question. Food can be beautiful—and flavorful, complex and delicious—without being overly complicated or fussy, I think. One of the biggest compliments a reader once paid me was saying that the recipes on Blue Kitchen always seem totally doable, but were things that would never have occurred to her. We're living in an exciting time for food—ingredients, techniques and even ways of thinking about food are available to us from all over the world. I like to borrow from all of them. Usually, I'm not going for an authentic ethnic dish, but rather a depth or mystery. There's a pot roast recipe I do in which I add biryani curry paste. The result isn't overtly Indian in flavor —instead, it usually has diners asking, "What's in this?" (And meaning it in a good way.)

CMW: The family dinner from the past took a turn for the worse but it seems to be making a resurgence, why do you think this is happening?
TB: There are a couple of reasons, I think. First, the economy has people realizing it's cheaper to cook at home than eat out all the time. And second, as we become more aware of food—what's in it, where it comes from, what's healthy, what's not—eating at home gives us more control. A wonderful side benefit in the resurgence of family dinners is that studies show kids who regularly eat dinner with their families tend to be better adjusted and do better in school.

CMW: If you could cook for any five people in the world, who would you invite and what would you cook?
TB: I'm going to cheat a little on this question and include the often added "living or dead" to it. As much as I love famous artists, writers and musicians, and as much as I admire many chefs, I would love to cook for my mom, my dad and my maternal grandmother. They're all gone now. I'm also going to cheat a little more and swell the invite list to include my kids and my wife Marion. That would be a meal to remember!

Marion is an amazing cook—the Cornish hens recipe you're featuring here is hers, in fact. I think the meal would have us both in the kitchen. I'm sure there would be many courses, starting with my Endive Salad with Blue Cheese and Walnuts (http://www.blue-kitchen.com/2007/05/02/a-little-something-on-the-side-a-salad-remembered/), then perhaps a leg of lamb or a turkey with piles of sides and ending with Marion's wonderfully dense and rich (Almost) Flourless Chocolate Cake. (http://www.blue-kitchen.com/2007/02/21/chocolate-cake-easy-on-the-flour-easy-to-make/)

CMW: Where do you mostly shop for your produce?
TB: In a big city like Chicago, there are plenty of options. When we can, we like to support our local farmers markets. But we also hit smaller ethnic produce markets for great produce and reasonable prices and supermarkets for sheer convenience.

CMW: Do you grow any of your own produce?
TB: We live in an apartment, so our options are somewhat limited. But we do manage to grow some tomatoes and herbs in the yard. Only farmers market tomatoes come close to those you grow yourself.

CMW: Do you think the food industry has failed us?
TB: In a word, yes. Factory farming has been bad for consumers, bad for animals, bad for the environment and bad for the workers. And packaged goods have not only been bad for our health, they’ve made many of us forget how to cook. Thankfully, we're beginning to wake up and demand change, and the food industry is starting to pay attention.

CMW: Project yourself into the future 20 years and tell us what your ideal food industry would look like.
TB: First, as amazing as the resurgence of small farmers is, small farms will never be able to reach a scale where they supply all our food. There just aren't enough people willing to farm these days. But many of their practices—growing food sustainably, with little or no pesticides and less stress on the environment, raising animals humanely—can be scaled up and adopted by factory farms. I'd also like to see more real food and fewer processed foods (or "edible foodlike substances," as Michael Pollan calls them) being produced, sold and consumed.

CMW: What is up next for Blue Kitchen?
TB: I'm still having fun with Blue Kitchen and enjoying its evolution. I've also been writing about food for USA Network's Character Approved Blog. (http://www.characterblog.com/main-categories/food/) and am a regular contributor to a couple of newspapers. Also, Marion recently appeared on a local morning TV show; spurred on by that, we'd like to figure out ways to incorporate more video into the blog, and to reach out into other media channels.

CMW: Can you share a recipe with us?
TB: I'd love to! Marion cooked for me on our first date. I cooked for her on our second date. So when we want a romantic dinner—for Valentine's Day, for instance—home cooking often wins out over restaurants. Here's Marion’s elegant, decadent (and easy) recipe for Cornish Hens with Meyer Lemons and Olives.

(http://www.blue-kitchen.com/2011/02/09/for-valentines-day-a-pair-of-birds-youll-love/)