Food Porn of the Day!

Some of you who’ve been following my adventures over at “30 Before 30” may remember a little stint I did working in a legit professional kitchen (if you haven’t yet, check it out!), for my friend Samin, an amazingly talented, progressive chef.

I have waxed poetic about Samin’s coolness before, and I’m about to do it again.

About 9 years ago in Berkeley, Samin took me to what can only be described as “The Best Potluck BBQ of All Time.” It took place in a house in the Berkeley hills which had, among other awesome amenities, an outdoor shower set among trees, an awesome garden and chicken coop, a wood burning furnace, and a vintage bathtub, from which you could see mountain views out the window while you soaked.

More importantly, though, was that this house was the location of the best Pot Luck ever, as Samin was working at Chez Panisse, as was every person who brought food to and attended this party. People, going to a party with food cooked by Chez Panisse chefs is like going to a Wine Tasting hosted by Dionysus AND Charles Shaw, but on crack. It was there that I saw Samin making her own goddamn marshmallows…from scratch. Until that day, I had NO IDEA that you could do that (not that I could do that, but people in general).

It is with this hype that I bring you today’s food porn: Persian Nougat.