Greetings and thanks for stopping by. Canape?

This is the blog formerly known as Cap’n Blog and Salty which was once found on www.nerdsonfilm.net. I will still be writing about food, travel and my beloved City of Roses. All of my previous blog entries will still be available here. And, hey!, I might even try to write new ones.

What’s with the name, you ask? Well, I’ll re-print what I wrote in my farewell on Cap’n Blog here:

The idea for “Tiny Sandwiches” came from a favorite childhood TV commercial that’s been lodged in my memory for some 30+ years. In this ad, a little girl carefully and lovingly makes a sandwich for herself, but upon discovering that there’s only a small amount of mayonnaise left (and, sorry, Market Brand Managers of America, but I can’t actually remember what brand it was), she instead decides to make a tiny sandwich to maximize the amount of flavor she gets from her beloved mayonnaise.

After seeing this commercial as a youngster, I would often cut my sandwiches into tiny pieces to pretend that I was eating just the one perfect bite of a sandwich.

This commercial has been rattling around my head for all these years and what it means to me is that when you’re cooking, the most important thing is to work with what you have and make it as delicious as you can. Improvisation, adaptation and creativity are the hallmarks of a good cook and are essential to having a positive cooking experience. Never mind that the original idea for this came from some nasty, industrial mayonnaise ad — the lesson is still very real. Plus, tiny bite-sized food is just inherently more exciting and fun to eat. And cuter!