Nothing is better than watching Stephen Curry cook

It wasn’t the first made shot that reminded me what it’s like to watch Chef Curry cook. It was the second one that triggered the feeling that’s been lying dormant in the offseason.

The first one involves Stephen Curry sending a layup high off the glass over a jumping Kendrick Perkins. That’s fair enough. But the second one is like watching Gordon Ramsey bang pots and fists on the table after the introductions in Kitchen Nightmares.

Curry is telling us viewers that yes, things are about to get serious. Kendrick Perkins, Nate Robinson and Dante Cunningham are muttering “you just fucking got here” under their breaths. They know the dish Curry is whipping up. We all know it. No matter.

(Sidenote: We need to come up with different word to describe Curry’s shot. He doesn’t really “launch” threes, and “takes” sounds too generic for his release. He seems to release them like a caring mother sending her child off to school. It’s a tender gesture that reassures us.)

An assist and a steal later, Curry drives on a fastbreak and finger-rolls the ball in. Then, he runs Ish Smith into a Draymond Green screen and sends off another three over Anthony Davis’ pterodactyl arms. He switches it up next play, attacking Perkins and swishing a dreaded long two-pointer in his face. The fear from the big men is understandable. It’s the same sad feeling a lesser chef gets when hearing a lobster bash its claws against the pot after the water starts bubbling.

Another one-dribble pull-up three in transition over poor Smith follows. This is when you can hear everyone logging into their Vine accounts. There are still five minutes left in the first quarter, but the chef is done with introductions and is ready to move on to the sauteing stage.

First, Curry preheats two tablespoons of free throws and toss in a touch of an assist to Green in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. While it’s advised to reduce the heat to medium and cook for 8-12 minutes, the MVP doesn’t have much time. So, he increases the heat for faster cooking.

He turns the defender over twice until he’s no longer pink:

Then, Steph repeats the process as necessary and throws in another layup and assist to keep things interesting, all while eating a pear and glancing at the television to pass the time and enjoy the process. He gets back into it and adds some spices:

He lets the dish marinate while laughing with his teammates that are there for a dinner party. They exchange recipes and cooking styles -- Klay Thompson is obviously a microwave and pizza rolls man, while Green prefers a pounded yam.

Finally, Steph returns to the task at hand to make sure that it’s all cooked properly:

And voila, Chef Curry’s signature dish is done. Twenty-four points in the first quarter alone, 40 in the game while not playing the fourth quarter. Delicious for everyone, except the Pelicans.

The saving grace: he’s cooked up this meal many times before. This was nothing more than the reigning NBA Iron Chef champion reminding us that he is still as good as ever. It’s the first game of the year and few conclusions can be drawn, but it’s safe to assume that these types of games remain his standard. Just another day in kitchen for the league’s premier culinary artist.

The best part is every time we watch this, it seems like the first time. If you eat the same meal over and over, you often lose taste for it. At least, you should. But watching Curry toss up threes in transition, off the dribble and in the defender’s face never gets old. Every time he’s in the motion to shoot, our mouths still water. We’re still in disbelief that something can taste so good, and we can’t wait to have it again.

I watched this edition of Chef Curry With the Pot with my little brother. We were standing the whole time and enjoying the show. After Curry dribbled past halfcourt while being double-teamed and launched a shot at the buzzer to end the quarter. I suggested to my brother that Curry could have passed to an open man.

My little brother walked away and replied: “Well, he is always kinda open.” True. Chef Curry can cook in any conditions.