Remembrance of Things Past

I'm not going to be writing specifically about the past and our memories as I have done previously but more about taking some of our past experiences and using them as building blocks or a road map for the present and the future.

I mentioned previously that in the 60's fast food places started popping up like crazy and the food was not especially bad but it was not exceptional either it was just a fast way to get a bite to eat.

One of the places that I seemed to spend a lot of time when I was a student was Dolores' Drive-In on Wilshire and La Cienega... mostly because it was convenient  but the food was actually good... when Mc Donald's came along they were basically a hamburger stand that you walked up to the window and you could get a cheeseburger, fries and a soft drink all the assorted things that are on the menu now came later.... I remember really liking the french fires.

I never was a big customer but when they started opening them in places like Europe and Japan I was intrigued because they offered things not on the mainland US menus. I really was only an irregular customer mostly in airports trying to get something fast between flights... I don't know if it was because my tastes became more sophisticated or the quality of the food declined or both I just never really was satisfied with the quality of the food or the way I felt a half hour after I ate... but after I saw the movie documentary   "Super Size Me"  I really have not been able to face the golden arches with the exception of the location on Kalakaua Avenue in Honolulu because they have Haupia Pie and fresh Strawberry Lemonade and  few other things not on the menus on the mainland.

I remember when Domino's Pizza started you used to be able to order a pizza and have it delivered in 30 minutes or less... it  was fantastic for busy, hungry people in a hurry... Several years ago a friend of mine moved from NYC back home to Detroit and he asked if I could help... mostly because I'm a wizard at organizing a move in regards to the packing, unpacking and putting away and setting up a new home. (I don't like to brag but once I baked a pie and had people over to dinner the same day I moved into a new apartment)... on this Detroit move we had a couple of days waiting for the moving company to show up with all of my friends possessions and we ordered Domino's Pizza while we were cleaning and laying shelf paper etc etc... On the final night before I was  flying back to New York City after everything was put away we decided to order Pizza again just because it was simple, fast and we were tired... we were in for a shock when the person at Domino's said "I'm sorry we don't deliver to that neighborhood after dark anymore because one of our drivers was held up and stabbed a couple of days ago."... many thoughts raced through my mind; the first was I hope it was not the driver who delivered our pizza a couple of days ago... secondly  my friend although he found a beautiful apartment the neighborhood is not great if delivery people are being robbed and stabbed... and finally... I know how to cook so how hard can it be to make pizza?  It turns out that it's not that difficult and you can do it yourself in just over a half hour and it's far and away more delicious than anything you can have delivered....

I really prefer the pizza stone method because the stone mimics the conditions of a brick oven and pulls the moisture from the dough to make a very crispy crust... There are some important issues with using a stone. Always put the stone in a cold oven and then start heating it and never move or handle a hot stone and also never clean it with soap as it will absorb the flavor of the soap and your next crust will taste like dishwashing liquid. All you need to do is scrape it with a wire brush and maybe a plastic  scraper and once and a while wipe it off with a wet towel... but as your use your stone it will start to turn darker and season with the flavors you have used.... What's the point of all of this? First and foremost  you now know how to make a superior pizza and secondly and maybe more importantly for me over time and with practice I was able to take a somewhat negative situation and turn it around into something splendid.

I thought of all of this because making pizza last night and I started thinking about that trip and learning to make pizza and remembered I was in the middle of re-reading Marcel Proust's "Remembrance of Things Past " on the flight from Detroit to New York ... the seven volumes are translated from the french version of In Search of Lost Time... it shows how the past can often inhibit the present and the various volumes showcase the full range of human emotions and the highs and lows of human experience... I've been thinking of reading it again because I think as we progress in life and have more experiences and grow we can find new meaning or insights. What I was learned in a past reading is you can't go back but you can take  what the past has given you to build or visit something new with an enhanced and sometimes deeper understanding.

Now that the weather is getting nice again in most places... go outside and play and enjoy your life and be happy!  See you next week!