Who is Uncle T?

Welcome to Uncle T's Kitchen.

I've been cooking and experimenting in the kitchen for several years now.  Usually what I prepare is well received and garners requests for the recipe.  After much dithering on my part and other people saying I should write a cook book or open a restaurant I decided to open my kitchen.  I will be talking about my recipes and changes I make to other's recipes and the reason for those changes.  I may also talk about tools and gadgets that make life easier in the kitchen.  Be warned, we do eat things that are outside the usual American culinary comfort zone.

Why does what I say matter?  I don't know that it does very much but I will say I do know food quality.  I spent 21 years as an Army Food Inspector and as such I know product characteristics for meats, seafood, as well as fruits and vegetables.  This enables me to find the best tasting and best quality for what I want to cook at any store.  Something to keep in mind, the best looking produce may not be the best to eat.

I got my start cooking while I was in 5th grade.  My father was attending graduate school and my mother was working so at times it fell to me to start preparations for supper.  While staying with my grandparents I would hang out in the kitchen while my grandmothers cooked.  I probably learned the most from my maternal grandmother as I lived with them for two years while at college.  As a small town Southern woman most of her cooking was done by the "put in what looks right" style of cooking and I do most of my cooking that way as well.  Thanks to my grandmothers I can cook some serious old school Southern food.  However, to this day I still can't match my grandmother's fried chicken.

Throughout our marriage, my wife and I would both work on supper, though most of my contribution was outside with the grill.  I started cooking more at home after redeploying from Iraq in 2004.  I was able to cook in Iraq and found it relaxing to get creative with limited options.  Now I do almost all the cooking.

If you've stayed with me this long, bless you.  I hope you find some inspiration to experiment in your kitchen. 

The kitchen is a wonderful play ground.

Uncle T