{"id":282,"date":"2026-04-21T23:19:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T23:19:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/21-2\/?page_id=282"},"modified":"2026-04-21T23:23:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T23:23:38","slug":"the-taste-of-love","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/21-2\/fiction\/the-taste-of-love\/","title":{"rendered":"The Taste of Love"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brock Aldus<\/span><\/p>\n

Five Star Reviews: 800\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cook Time: 3\u00a0Hr\u00a020 Min\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yield: 8 servings\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There are several objective truths to the world. Some of\u00a0which,\u00a0I know. This is one of them.\u00a0Truly great food is art. It is a divine culmination of skill, knowledge, and above all else, love.\u00a0Food is love. Food is better when made with those you love, out of ingredients you love, through actions you love. My mother (rest her soul) taught me to love the act of cooking in all forms. She loved every grizzly aspect of it. As such, I will not shy away from the process\u00a0in whole. Some look with disdain at those that take the\u00a0easy way\u00a0for cooking.\u00a0I believe this disgust\u00a0is a bridge too far, however, I would be disrespecting myself and my mother if I did not show this recipe in full. As with most of my greatest recipes, I learned it at my mother\u2019s side as we made it dozens of times. The specific importance of this dish is that it is tied deeply to the memory of my first hunt.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

First, we must discuss the importance of choosing your prey. Specifically, what makes an ideal vs subpar\u00a0target.\u00a0We shall start with the worst target of all. The worst body type is lean and muscular as it provides the least appetizing meat by far. But why? Let us explore: The primary factor that\u00a0determines\u00a0whether a cut of meat is tough or tender is the density of muscle fibers. A muscle that is used infrequently will be far more tender than one used extensively. The other side of this coin is flavor. Flavor comes primarily from fat, specifically intramuscular fat. To understand intramuscular fat first think of\u00a0the fat\u00a0on say\u00a0your stomach. This layer of fat has dozens of positive effects on the body. However, it is\u00a0only<\/i>\u00a0fat. This is different from intramuscular\u00a0fat\u00a0which\u00a0can\u00a0for\u00a0example\u00a0be found in the thigh. This fat lies within the muscle itself and when\u00a0cooked it\u00a0melts into the\u00a0meat\u00a0keeping it juicy, tender, and most of all, delicious.\u00a0One that is lean and muscular will result in tough and overall bland meat. One of the least appetizing meals I have ever partaken in was a track runner. Absolutely dreadful.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When my mother took me on my first\u00a0hunt\u00a0I, as a foolish child, pointed to the first target I saw. He was what I would now call a beanpole. Tall, thin, with nice strong legs.\u00a0Legs that made me quite literally drool from their definition.\u00a0However, my mother was\u00a0above all else\u00a0a wise woman. She pointed out what I just did, that his body composition was not at all ideal.\u00a0Additionally,\u00a0we were but a boy in grade school and a dainty woman past her prime. Her hands could cook, but she did not have the raw strength to fight. Additionally, the longer the chase the higher the adrenaline. This increased level of adrenaline\u00a0consequently\u00a0leads to an increased pH level in the meat. This increase produces a\u00a0tougher\u00a0less flavorful cut of meat when all is said and done. It is imperative that the livestock is kept calm till the moment of death. As such, we moved on.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0One may think that if lean and muscular is a poor choice then perhaps the opposite is\u00a0better,\u00a0and you should\u00a0hunt\u00a0the plumpest target you can find. While not a bad train of\u00a0thought\u00a0this is a bridge too far. I, as a child, had the same thought process. I pointed to a suitably fat woman as our potential target. Surely someone like her was rich in flavor. My mother, ever kind, nodded along praising my thinking. She then told me the catch. If a target is\u00a0too<\/i>\u00a0fat\u00a0the meat becomes greasy and unappetizing. While a target such as this is not the prime cut we were searching\u00a0for,\u00a0she is not fully useless.\u00a0Later\u00a0we will discuss the importance of\u00a0additional\u00a0fat and how it is an invaluable resource.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

By\u00a0this point I was growing frustrated with myself and my mother. I cried and begged for the answer. I wanted her help. She took my face in her hands and spoke with such softness. She calmed my anxieties and pushed me to try again. This was my\u00a0first hunt. A coming of age. A\u00a0sacred practice I could share with my beloved mother. It was vital that I did not give up. She was there to help me along the same way I shall help you by revealing the ideal prey and\u00a0subsequently\u00a0the ideal cut of meat.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As with most things in life, moderation is key. You want someone on the fatter side but not too much. What you are specifically looking for, the ideal cut of meat on a\u00a0human so to speak, the\u00a0cut I cooked back then and will teach you how to make\u00a0now,\u00a0we shall be cooking the thigh. Particularly the vastus lateralis, the largest and most powerful muscle in the quadricep muscle group. You want a target with a\u00a0nice\u00a0large thigh. Large muscles have greater\u00a0substance\u00a0as well as being high in fat. The most observant\u00a0among you will question me. \u201cWhy large muscles? Would that not be tough and unappetizing as you mentioned before?\u201d That is an excellent point and one that I raised myself at the time.\u00a0So, I shall respond in the words of my mother.\u00a0\u201cTo cook is to bring beauty out of imperfection. We shall make something wonderful.\u201d Trust me when I say that the thigh shall be the ideal cut.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Near a rundown convenience store that my mother frequented as a hunting ground due to the broken cameras and it being run by a friend of the\u00a0family,\u00a0we found a woman that\u00a0seemed to perfectly fit\u00a0the criteria. She was short, shorter even than my mother so perhaps 5\u20190 at most. The woman was a tad chubby but not too fat with beautifully plump legs. She was at\u00a0prime\u00a0age\u00a0being\u00a0in her\u00a0mid 20s, a sweet spot of sorts for high quality meat. Despite this\u00a0being my first hunt,\u00a0I was not to be the primary hunter in\u00a0all\u00a0this. Rather, my mother promised me\u00a0a very important\u00a0role; I was to act as the bait. After all, who can resist a child asking for help so late at\u00a0night.\u00a0As the woman left the store she heard a soft plea from the shadows. A sweet and tender voice asking for someone, anyone. She may have been on\u00a0guard,\u00a0but I am proud to say I was an excellent actor. She spotted me on my knees leaning against the dumpster with my head\u00a0hung\u00a0low so as not to\u00a0face her. My muffled sobs drew the kind soul in\u00a0as I\u00a0knelt down\u00a0to appear less threatening.\u00a0She reached out. Her hand was mere inches from my head and more importantly her attention was undivided. All it takes is\u00a0a moment of distraction for a target to meet its doom. I have mentioned how my mother was a small, older woman with hands not built for the brutality of a vicious hunt.\u00a0That being said, she\u00a0could be\u00a0mean<\/i>\u00a0with\u00a0a\u00a0cleaver. She was a chef through and through. Her approach was silent even to me who kept a careful ear out for her. The young woman had no hope of noticing my mother. One clean chop to the back of the neck all but killed our prey. My mother never explicitly told me that she held\u00a0back,\u00a0however, I have always believed that she could have taken the woman\u2019s head off had she wished to. Instead, the woman lay there half decapitated and sprawled out before me. With her spine cut clean and blood gushing\u00a0out\u00a0she had\u00a0maybe two\u00a0or three minutes of life left in her. My mother silently handed me her cleaver and looked down at the woman. I understood, it was my\u00a0hunt,\u00a0I needed to put her down. Those minutes of suffering would have been a cruelty my mother did not support.\u00a0That being said, it\u00a0did feel quite good to put her out of her misery as well as to complete my first hunt.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Though the hunt itself was\u00a0over\u00a0the day was long from finished. Thankfully, my mother had retrofitted our old Honda\u2019s trunk into an\u00a0icebox\u00a0meaning we\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0need to process her\u00a0then and there. Simply slicing her open and removing the organs was enough to stave off any ill effects of death. We loaded her into the trunk and made our way back home. I remember that drive vividly. The way she looked with blood splattered across her face. Her hands dyed crimson, her smile as bright as the morning sun. My mother was the most beautiful woman in the world, and she was never more beautiful than after a kill. It is now that I shall reveal in full what we shall be cooking.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The most tender braised roast you could believe, one that simply melts in your mouth. For this\u00a0recipe\u00a0you need three main human products. The meat itself, tallow, and stock. I\u00a0shall\u00a0teach you how to make or\u00a0acquire\u00a0all three. The meat we have already\u00a0discussed\u00a0of course. Therefore, we shall go to the tallow. Tallow, for those unaware, is fat\u00a0rendered\u00a0down and purified to a point in which it may be used for cooking.\u00a0This is where the\u00a0aforementioned plump\u00a0prey is quite useful.\u00a0Having large reserves of\u00a0tallow\u00a0is vital for any chef. The process of making\u00a0tallow\u00a0is\u00a0actually quite\u00a0simple. Merely place a large amount of raw fat into a high walled stock pot and heat it over low allowing the fat to melt. This will cook for around 2\u00a0hours\u00a0pulling out every drop of liquid fat from the flesh. Simply strain the solids from liquids via a cheesecloth and then place the tallow in a vessel of your\u00a0choice\u00a0to cool and solidify. Now, you have a deeply flavorful fat that can withstand\u00a0most high\u00a0temperatures.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Next, let us\u00a0speak\u00a0on\u00a0making a bone broth. A good chef is a resourceful one. Waste should be avoided as much as possible as every part of the body has\u00a0a wonderful\u00a0use. As the name\u00a0suggests\u00a0we will primarily be making use of bones for this recipe. Any bone will\u00a0do. Just make sure the bones fit within your pot. First, lay the bones out on a sheet pan and place it into a\u00a0400 degree\u00a0Fahrenheit\u00a0oven for about 30 minutes. Roasting the bones helps to draw out and deepen flavor. Next, place the bones into a large stockpot and fill about \u00be of the way with water. This is an ideal time to add used saved frozen vegetable\u00a0scraps,\u00a0however fresh vegetables will work just as well. Add carrots, onions, celery, and garlic into the pot.\u00a0Finally,\u00a0it is important to add something rich in collagen to provide even more richness and body to the stock as well as being an excellent use of less appealing ingredients. I am fond of using ears as a source of collagen. Regardless, place everything into the pot along with fresh herbs such as thyme or any other seasonings you\u00a0desire. Bring the water to a low simmer for the first 30\u00a0minutes,\u00a0stirring\u00a0frequently\u00a0and skim off any of the scum that rises to the top. This is blood and other impurities being drawn from the bones.\u00a0Once no more\u00a0scum is rising, place a lid on the pot. Allow the pot to lightly simmer for up to eight hours. Stir occasionally. The longer you\u00a0cook\u00a0the deeper the flavor you will\u00a0attain. Once the time has passed,\u00a0strain out\u00a0the stock from the solids. Allow this to cool in the fridge in a\u00a0covered container. When solidified, scrap off and discard the opaque solids at the top which are excess fat. With this done you will be left with a rich, full, wonderfully gelatinous stock that can be used for all\u00a0manner\u00a0of recipes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One such recipe is of course this roast. All the steps I have just explored are tasks I completed with my mother dozens of times. I was her personal attendant given the sacred duty of vigilantly watching her pots. I had truly a wonderful childhood making hundreds of gallons of stock for the brilliant recipes my mother created. She was incredibly creative when it came to all things but especially with cooking. The night of the hunt our fridge was already full of tallow and\u00a0stock\u00a0meaning we were completely prepared to cook. My mother removed the carcass from our trunk and brought it to our garage where we butchered all our prey. She was quick and powerful with her\u00a0cleaver\u00a0taking off the thigh and\u00a0roughly cutting\u00a0it. She handed me the massive chunk of meat and sent me off to the kitchen to begin prepping our dinner while she finished processing the body.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

By this age I was already well versed in how to skin freshly caught meat. Simply place the knife where skin meets muscle and begin gently cutting away at it keeping a careful eye on what was skin versus edible meat.\u00a0Typically,\u00a0you would salt and pepper the\u00a0meat\u00a0allowing it to sit uncovered in your fridge overnight to deeply season the meat and to draw out moisture leading to a better crust. However, due to the nature of today\u2019s hunt and meal it was\u00a0imperative\u00a0we cooked the meat tonight.\u00a0Therefore, I salted and peppered the roast allowing it to sit as I\u00a0finished preparations.\u00a0By this\u00a0time\u00a0my mother had returned and was by my side helping me prep. For this meal we used 6 carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks, two large diced white onion, 4 stalks of diced celery, and 4 cloves of finely minced garlic.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For\u00a0garlic\u00a0especially it is important to know that the amount of garlic flavor you get in your finished product is directly proportional to how finely you cut it. This is because the flavor is released when the cell walls are damaged. More damage therefore leads to more flavor. It is also why a garlic press is such a reliable tool as crushing\u00a0the garlic\u00a0is even more effective than cutting it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With your veggies cut begin melting tallow into the\u00a0Dutch\u00a0oven on medium high heat. As a child I was\u00a0designated\u00a0as the \u201chead chef\u201d of this meal. My mother was there to\u00a0assist\u00a0and\u00a0observe\u00a0while I took the reins. I had watched her cook recipes like this dozens of times before. Yet still my nerves were difficult to ignore. Her presence helped to ground me and drive me forward. For a\u00a0stainless steel\u00a0pan,\u00a0it is crucial you allow the cooking fat to get quite hot which prevents any\u00a0possible sticking\u00a0to the bottom. Place the meat into the pan making sure you hear the sizzle of the sear without the fat popping up aggressively. Sear all sides for about a minute each developing color on all sides. On stainless\u00a0steel\u00a0the pan will release the meat when it is ready. If it is difficult to\u00a0remove\u00a0it\u00a0is\u00a0likely\u00a0not\u00a0fully browned. Searing will improve the texture, appearance, and flavor of your roast by helping to create a seal for juices and flavor. With all sides seared, remove the meat and\u00a0place\u00a0in your onions, carrots, and celery, with the garlic coming in only a minute before the others are done.\u00a0Saut\u00e9\u00a0the veggies allowing them to soak up the fat and brown slightly, be careful not to burn the garlic. Once\u00a0browned\u00a0add in\u00a01 cup of\u00a0a dry\u00a0red wine and deglaze the pot of any fond with a wooden spoon scraping the bottom. Then,\u00a0add in\u00a03 cups of your stock. Place your meat back into the\u00a0pan\u00a0adding more wine until only the top 1\u00a0inch of the meat is exposed to the air. Finally,\u00a0add in\u00a02 bay leaves as well as 2-3 sprigs of fresh rosemary and thyme.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With all the ingredients\u00a0prepared\u00a0we set the pot to a low\u00a0simmer,\u00a0covering it to cook for the next 3 hours. Stir occasionally to ensure nothing is sticking to the bottom. As we set the pot and went off to prepare various accoutrements for the dinner my mother took my face in her hands. She said to me, \u201cMy dear Alexi, you were phenomenal today. May we have many more successful hunts and make many more meals\u00a0together.\u00a0Above all else, I love you, Bug. Congratulations on your hunt.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When the meat is\u00a0tender\u00a0pull it from the braising liquid and serve however you see fit. As I hope this recipe has proved, cooking does not have an end point. It is an endlessly iterative process of love and passion. The meat can be used for sandwiches, eaten\u00a0atop\u00a0rice, or, what my mother and I did, served atop mashed potatoes as is the classic preparation of braised\u00a0human.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite being cooked by a far inferior chef, that meal was one of the greatest of my life. Not because of my skill or technique. But\u00a0rather from\u00a0the pure\u00a0love poured into that night. That taste is one I shall endlessly pursue. The taste of love and devotion from my dear mother. Never stop cooking. I love you,\u00a0mom.\u00a0<\/span>
\n\u00a0<\/span>
\n-Alexi\u00a0Ricciardi\u00a0<\/span>
\nThe\u00a0Gourmand\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brock Aldus Five Star Reviews: 800\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cook Time: 3\u00a0Hr\u00a020 Min\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yield: 8 servings\u00a0 \u00a0 There are several objective truths to the world. Some of\u00a0which,\u00a0I know. This is one of them.\u00a0Truly great food is art. It is a divine culmination of skill, knowledge, and above all else, love.\u00a0Food is love. Food is better when made with… <\/p>\n

Read more The Taste of Love<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":0,"parent":17,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-282","page","type-page","status-publish","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/21-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/21-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/21-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/21-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/21-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=282"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/21-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/282\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":283,"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/21-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/282\/revisions\/283"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/21-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/21-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}