30 Lessons: Christina Tosi

I don't cook exceptionally well, and I know very little about baking. I love food, though. I love the thought and creativity that goes into producing an amazing meal. I love the passion in chefs - their desire to speak to people through their taste buds and souls. I love watching shows like Mind of a Chef, No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain, and the Taste. I love learning about food.

Every once in a while, I do try to cook something adventurous. I made goat cheese biscuits for the first time this summer and quickly claimed them as my favorite food. One of my favorite new discoveries, though, is these corn cookies. I made them, fell in love with them, and immediately became enamored with their creator, Christina Tosi. I'd seen her featured on Mind of a Chef, and this Christmas, I was given her cookbook, Milk. On top of that, we have a friend that's been working with Questlove on his Food Salon projects (check these out here and here), and Christina Tosi was recently a part of the event in Miami. I can't go too far without running back into this amazing woman.

When I opened her cookbook, I was almost more interested in the written portions than the food pictured on the pages. She opens the book by telling her story - how she got into baking, what it means to her, and how she ended up at the Milk Bar. I loved it. I loved her directness, her passion, her unabashed love affair with cookie dough. You read her words and you end up loving her food even more. 

One of the greatest things I took from this cookbook was Tosi's challenge to be a hardbody. A hardbody, as she explains it, is " a person who goes above and beyond." They are people who "approach each recipe and each task with a sense of humor. A hardbody keeps cool and keeps creative." She describes each person on her staff as a hardbody and asserts that they don't belong in her kitchen if they're anything else. 

I love this call to excellence and good-natured, hard work. There must be such personal reward for that kitchen staff when they've put in a full, complete day of baking. I look at the "hardbody", and I realize I want to live that way. I want to live with tenacity and energy. I want to see difficulties as challenges and take myself less seriously. In my short, one-way relationship with Tosi, she has taught me much about passion and character. But she also taught me how to make the best cookies in the world. I'm sticking by that statement. They are amazing.

Corn Cookies