Welcome to 44 Degrees
The Intersection of Food Facts and Fiction
Why 44 Degrees? It’s the latitude of Bend, Oregon, which is where we call home. It’s also the name of a fictitious restaurant in San Francisco that appears in my Gideon novels. As a tie-in to the novels, I've blurred the lines between my recipe compilation and the main characters in the books. And while many of the recipe introductions herein are created from whole cloth, most are grounded in reality. You don’t need to have read the novels to use and enjoy this cookbook. However, if you are familiar with Gideon, you’ll be treated to a little extra spice.
One note about the subtitle, “It’s a cookbook!” Fellow sci-fi nerds will get the reference to one of the classic episodes of The Twilight Zone. If you don’t fall into the nerd category, Google the episode called “To Serve Man.”
Know this up front…I am not a professional chef. I’m a television producer and writer who likes to cook. I started collecting recipes about twenty-five years ago when my job took me on location to various cities throughout Canada. Most weekends, I’d try out new recipes and jot them down. Finally, after all these years, I decided to formally cobble the recipes together and the result is 44 Degrees.
Despite having zero formal training, I’ve spent thousands of hours in the kitchen tinkering with different recipes. Some worked, others ended up in the trash. Does that make me an expert? Definitely not, but it has given me a solid base as a home chef.
I’m confident you can make everything within these pages if you have the patience, temerity and ingredients. If there’s a recipe that sounds delicious but looks like a pain in the ass, take a deep breath and give it shot. What have you got to lose? If you have an epic fail, you can always order a pizza.
Check it out here: