I am a foodie.

Will and I had his sister and her husband over for dinner the other night. We were talking about food, specifically discussing organic labeling, industrialized meat production, and how good the food is in Seattle compared to what we’ve found so far in DC, especially in terms of artisanal bakeries (of which DC has ZERO, a fact that I had highly suspected due the abysmal state of baked goods I’ve tasted in this city and which was recently confirmed in the "Best of DC" issue of a local weekly magazine – for that category, they had to swap out "worst" for "best").

Anyway, Natalie at one point asked me if Will and I considered ourselves "foodies". I’ve heard that term before, but wasn’t quite sure Will and I fit the description. So, I looked it up and I guess it depends on which definition you choose. For example, I found one on yelp.com/sanfrancisco that defines the term like this:

an uneducated wannabe trend whore.
i fucking hate the word "foodie".

Uuuummmm, okay. Whereas Wikipedia defines it in contrast with the word "gourmet":

Gourmets simply want to eat the best food, whereas foodies want to learn everything about food, both the best and the ordinary, and about the science, industry, and personalities surrounding food. For this reason, foodies are sometimes viewed as obsessively interested in all things culinary.

This is opposed to "gastronome", the word I’ve chosen to head up food-based posts to this blog and which Merriam-Webster defines like this:

a lover of good food; especially : one with a serious interest in gastronomy.

Of course, I don’t agree with the first definition at all; while I am a trend whore, I am most certainly not uneducated. The third option is linguistically the most intriguing with its French etymology (not to mention France’s reputation as a country practically built on its reputation for good food), but in an effort to reach the greatest audience, "foodie" is the most accessible for an American audience, I guess. And with that, I’ll post this incredible recipe for brussels sprouts, which I had, prior to cooking them in this manner, not liked
much at all. Bon appétit!

Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Lemon and Pistachios

Ingredients
3 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 tablespoon minced shallot

12 large brussels sprouts (about 1 1/2 pounds),
trimmed, leaves separated from cores
(about 8 cups), cores discarded
3/4 cup shelled unsalted natural pistachios

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preparation
Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over
medium-high heat. Add shallot and stir
20 seconds. Add Brussels sprout leaves
and pistachios, and sauté until leaves
begin to soften but are still bright green,
about 3 minutes. Drizzle lemon juice over.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Transfer to bowl and serve.