Black's in.

And I'm not talking about clothing. I'm talking about the kitchen. There are a couple of cooks in my life. The closest one is my Dad. He's always trying something new and succeeding. I know I'm overly spoiled. He often packs his gourmet meals in Tupperware containers, which have been coined "Daddy meals" by a couple of girlfriends. The point I'm trying to make is, it's hard to impress Dad when he's "in the know" with the culinary world. However, I have managed to surprise him with a few food trinkets. I picked up a bag of black garlic from Berkeley Bowl during my last trip up to Northern California. Looks good, taste great (almost sweet). You gotta trust me on this one. It adds kick to whatever dish you're making. And look at this great item (that I have yet to gift)--black sea salt. I thought sea salt was pretty wonderful already. I love it much more than regular salt since it's more substantial and really offers a salty bit of heaven. And now it's black! I think I have a fascination with both of these black foods because they are so basic and essential to the kitchen but there's a twist.

Help bring the cook in your life back to basics with black (say that quickly 5 times)!