Why is your name “spicyAFchef”?

First off, it's catchy with a nice ring to it. I love spicy food and so does my entire family. AF is something I refer to often. In case you didn't know, it stands for "As Fuck". Yeah, I know, it's super classy and that's how I roll. If you don't like it, then... sorry, not sorry. Don't get the wrong idea, my food isn't overly spicy. I do like to taste the other ingredients without overbearing the recipes with heat. I try my best to tone down my spice level to where most people can handle it. It's a happy medium for mixed groups while being slightly on the spicy side. So as the resident chef in my group, I thought this name was very fitting. If you don't like the name, you will still like the food so don't stop here. Enjoy!

- spicyAFchef

Why do you use grams to measure everything?

You may be asking yourself... Why da fuq does spicyAFchef use grams for all ingredients? Well, I'm glad you asked because I'm about to go on a rant. 😈 OK, so here is my logic...

#1: Less dirty dishes.

That's right... Have fun making your recipes with 19 different measuring spoons and cups. I will just use my gram scale and a bowl or 2. I use 0 measuring devices other than my gram scale.

#2: Ummm... I'm confused...

  • How much onion is in this damn recipe, Grandma!?!? 1 cup of chopped onions? Like fine or coarse? I can fit double the onions if finely chopped as coarse chopped in a cup! Or "1" onion... So like a small onion or one of those grapefruit-looking mother fuckers? Lol

  • Or chopped basil... How much basil Grandma!?!? Like once it's chopped do I smash it into the cup with a hydraulic press? If not, do I layer the basil into the cup like delicate flowers??? So somewhere between 1 ounce and 1 pound of basil. Got it...

  • How about 1 cup of honey? We all know only about 7/8 of a cup is coming out of that cup unless you plan to use a pressure washer or ram a finger in there like Pooh Bear. Anyway, with grams, you can eliminate this hassle by pouring the honey directly into the recipe bowl or pan.

  • A pinch, dash, drizzle, sprinkle, or smidge of an ingredient... Oh yeah... These are the chef's “hall of famers”. I literally cannot speak this horrific kitchen language. It makes me cringe when I see "units of measurement" like this. So if I am making a triple batch, I just triple-pinch it? Ok, Grandma... Whatever you say...

#3: I want to increase or decrease an ingredient in my recipe by a certain %.

Good luck with changing your fractions by %. With grams, I can taste a recipe and let's say, change the salt content by 1.5% if I want. Can you change Grandma's recipe that calls for 1/8 tsp by 1.5%? Have fun finding the correct fractional spoon for that new quantity in your imperial measuring drawer. Or maybe you use 3/8 cups of milk for a recipe that serves 5. Today you are cooking for 6 people. 3/8 cup with a 20% increase is easy but not when you use measuring cups. Do you own a 0.45 measuring cup? 🤣

#4: I have a recipe that serves 4 people but I have 7 people tonight.

Good luck with 1/2 tsp x 1.75 lolol. You need a 0.875 tsp measuring spoon. I have never seen one.

#5: I only have a certain amount of an ingredient and I want to make the most I possibly can make without running out of a limited ingredient for the dish.

Maximize the recipe to max out the limited ingredients. Let's say you have a roast. I only have enough roast for 3.9 servings. At least you can make as much as possible instead of running short. Do a 3.9 serving recipe to use the entire roast and all other ingredients are in perfect proportions. It's like magic.

#6: Tiny amounts of ingredients.

For example, allspice in my jambalaya recipe. I need very small quantities that just don't work well with fractions of teaspoons. Also, spicyAFchef will NOT be telling you to use a pinch, dash, drizzle, sprinkle, or smidge. That's a promise...

Ok, so that sums up the "why" of my rant. I may seem crazy but you gotta admit, I may have a point. Or 6 points but who's counting? Grams just make sense. I came to this realization a few years ago and I will never go back to the imperial collection of tin measuring contraptions.