Let’s have a history lesson.

I was always a good student. I was one of those kids that did well in almost every subject (notice I said almost…numbers still elude me).

But numbers aside, history was/is particularly delicious to me.

Cooking has an interesting history of course. You don’t have to go all the way back to medieval times to find a fascinating tale.

In fact I have a fun story for you. In the 1960s & 70s, in this country at least, the foodie-world was abuzz with the suddenly “discovered” truth behind “classical French cuisine”. It was brought to our attention by the commendable talents of Julia Child. Her book Mastering the Art of French Cooking changed the way American home cooks like my mother began to look at gourmet food.

As I have said before. I was raised on this kind of fare. I was a nine year old who liked chicken liver pâté. I knew crêpe was not pronounced crape, and sauces always started with bones.

But things can never stay just as they are, now can they? In fact changes were afoot in the culinary world. Because just as Ms. Child was introducing Americans to classical French cooking; classical French cooking was being challenged or perhaps re-interpretted in of all places– France!

This morning at breakfast Ken (my hunky BF) and I were discussing the day. You know, getting the lay of the land for the next 24 hours. All couples do that… Would there be business stuff tonight, or no? Would he be around for dinner or not? The man works and works and works, so I always gotta ask.

He mentioned his day included meeting people for coffee and dessert sometime after 8pm, but dinner at home was on the agenda (goodie, I thought!).

So, (more to myself than anything) I said: “That’s great I have a pound of broccoli florets that need to be eaten while they are still fresh and green.”

To my surprise, he not only heard me but he answered.

He said: “Oh you should make that super lemony, crisp broccoli and garlic salad like we used to get at Fab’s in the valley”.

First off, by “we” he meant he and his old (I mean previous) BF. But I let that pass. After nearly 20 years of coupledom I figure I’d know if he still held a torch for an old flame. No need to be dramatic, though I am perfectly capable of being dramatic if need be.

Of course, the recipe was another story. That I could not be so sure about. I mean, I was working at a disadvantage here, I was not a part of the “we” that “liked” said “broccoli salad”, was I? No I was the “me” that had never had this salad before. Oh, wait... I am getting dramatic. Scale it back, Greg.

I am not in a chatty mood.

But we have burgers to talk about. The trouble with blithely bouncing burger banter about is that I then have to belly up to my bluster!

Which is an (overly) cute way to say. I promised a week of burgers and I shall deliver. Now I didn't say what kind of "burgers", did I?

Because the truth is as big a carnivore as I am (and I am), I could not face red-meat two days in a row.

Besides what if my burger obsession causes me to lose the veg-heads out there. My guess is that a buffalo burger does not rate super high on their thrill meters.

Sup! needs every reader he can get. So court the veg-heads I must. To do this I am pulling out the big guns. I am bringing out the meatiest veg I know. The portobello mushroom.

There are plenty of reasons to love mushrooms.

We eat mushrooms as a main course quite often. While I would never say we use mushrooms to replace meat in some meals (because that goes against my whole belief system—I never use “stand-ins” I believe in using the real thing). I would say, however, that mushrooms can be such a satisfyingly complete experience that they are the main event in some recipes.

Take this simple pasta dish. Linguine & Oyster Mushroom Sauce. I am taking these gorgeous (and healthy) oyster mushrooms and quickly sautéing them olive oil and butter. I'll add a bit of contrast with the bright tones of sweet vermouth. And make it a complete meal with the addition of arugula and linguine. That’s it, dinner is done. Well, salt and pepper and NOW dinner is done.

I have asked my brother Grant to do a wine pairing. I’ll put together a fennel salad and get this on the table while you read some more interesting information on mushrooms.

There is a book that has been floating around my house for quite sometime. It is called Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Save the World. Paul Stamets wrote it in 2005, and it is something I considered a boring work-related bit of reading destined to stay on the BF’s side of the bed.

I am not a vegetarian. I am not a vegan. I certainly respect people who make those choices, but I simply do not understand why they would choose to do so.

I am not the kind of person who chooses to limit myself. I am not a “live by a strict and narrow set of rules or die” kinda guy. I am far too young (and always will be!) to say, “Oh, I no longer need those experiences. I am happy with these experiences”.

However, I am also smart enough to know that people who choose to be vegetarian or vegan probably have a whole set of reasons for choosing it. And interestingly, these reasons probably have nothing to do with what I see as the limitations of these choices. While I would not say this makes me stupid. I'll admit it may make me uninformed.

That said, ironically, we eat vegetarian or vegan 2 or 3 nights a week. While I would never get on the “no-way, no-how” train, or jump through convoluted hoops to force some dish to be vegan, I do believe there are health benefits to “limiting” the amount of meat you eat.

Besides, there are so many beautiful foods and recipes I want to experience that just happen to be vegetarian or vegan. These foods and recipes are perfect just the way they are. Why would I limit myself from eating them? I wouldn’t… nor would I jump through convoluted hoops just to add meat to them.

Tonight’s dinner is a great example of this.