Author: graphinex

“Kick it up a notch” with Emeril Lagasse, or match “Flavor Pals” with Jean-George Vongerichten; these combinations have stood the test of time: Iced Original Coke and Simply Limeade, three to one. Kraft Mac and Cheese with sauteed hot links coins stirred in — hot dogs don’t work — and whole berry cranberry sauce on …

There are innumerable ways to cook and present a potato. But one of my favorites is the twice-cooked potato. Here’s how: Preheat your oven or toaster oven to 350 degrees F and leave it on till the potato is served. Find a nice large Russet or Idaho potato. Dock it with a paring knife on …

A food editor from the Washington Post once asked Chef Francois Dionot, founder of L’Academie de Cuisine, to name the most important tool in the kitchen. “Hands,” said he, “hands are the cook’s most important tool.” Food and cookbook writers rightly champion the virtues of uniformly cut, diced, or cubed meats and vegetables. However, there …

I buy a lot of food items that are not carried in the supermarkets or, if they are, are not reliable or not of good quality. Here are a few food websites that are fun to browse through and offer high-quality food items: First on the list is www.neuskes.com, a conveyor of high-end pork products. …

Take note that your GE microwave has a setting marked “Potato.” So, let’s use it. Luther Burbank developed the russet potato in 1873. It did not grow in popularity until irrigation was introduced in Idaho in the 1930s, hence the Idaho potato. With high starch and low moisture content, they bake up light and dry …

My sister described eternity as a couple with a leftover Easter ham. So, in anticipation of the holiday, here’s a preparatory thought: I like sandwich spreads and often prepare chicken, egg, or tuna to pile on good bread with mayo and lettuce. Not so much with ham. But I had an urging, and a leftover …

In the Dining Room, order a salad for dessert instead of a gooey one. More healthful, cleans the palate, and baffles the wait staff when ordered. The Market Salad, now off the menu, and the on-menu Citrus Salad are spot-on after-dinner salads. The French do it . . . For dinner at home, buy some …

An induction burner generates energy from an electromagnetic field below a glass cooktop surface to a pot or pan above it. It has one massive advantage for cooks of all ages: it’s safer since it creates heat within the pan itself — no pan, no heat, no burning yourself on the glass top, which during …

You’ve got to do a mess of fresh cranberries in November. They’re so much better than canned. But to make them come out balanced — we have strong ingredients here — reserve at Step 3 some of the diced jalapeno, some chopped cilantro, and a fourth of the lime juice. In Step 4, taste what …

Julia Child said a home cook could get along nicely with two knives: an 8- or 10-inch chef’s knife and a good paring knife. All right. But the chef’s knife is too big and the paring knife is too small for many cutting tasks. Other knives surely include a boning knife, a long slicing knife, …