Seeking to foster a renewed interest in home culinary arts among experienced home cooks.
This is not a website for food phobics or wellness hypochondriacs.
Haven’t and won’t post for awhile until I get settled into an independent living retirement community. It’s a large apartment in a retired military service affiliated non-profit facility located in Loudoun County, Virginia, about 25 minutes from my home of 38 years in Mclean. Not excited about the move but age is a reality, so …
Shrimp Scampi with Deli Sautéed SpinachMy shrimp scampi recipe was posted years ago. But I always thought something was a bit off about it. I finally figured out that it was the Worchester Sauce. Worchester Sauce and shrimp are not flavor pals, so I’ve taken it out.This recipe below is tried and true but I …
PAELLA A LA MCLEAN Serves 8• 7 cups chicken stock or broth (low salt)• BG satchel (parsley stems, pepper corns, thyme and bay leaves)• 2 lbs small mussels• 2 oz white wine• 1.5 lbs sea bass or monkfish, cut to serving size• 20 medium shrimp• ½ lb squid , cut …
Think of a drizzle as a liquid garnish. Something distinct added at the last minute to the top of a dish to impart a contrasting taste of richness, sweetness or depth. Here we have the usual liquors, maple syrup and ice cream syrups and less usual–high quality extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and aged balsamic …
The menu:2 10-12 pound turkeysChicken stock (for gravy, stuffings and carrots) Day ahead gravy (your recipe, my stock)Cranberries with roasted jalapenosTwo stuffingsMashed potatoes (your recipe)Glazed CarrotsBrussels sprouts with bacon lardons or Spicy sproutsPies and Gelatos CHICKEN STOCK If you worked for French or Italian chefs in high-end kitchens, they had you made stocks a couple …
Farmed salmon is good and inexpensive. Here, seasoned with Cajun Seasoning from The Spice House and stir fry veggies from Trader Joe’s–all done in the wok with EVOO. Thaw the veggies and season the salmon fillet, then toss and stir fry the veggies at high heat in the wok until done-about five minutes. Remove the …
The origin and the essential ingredients of cioppino (chuh-PEE-noh) remain obscure even after reading Thorne, McClane, Herbst and others in the bibliography. For sure, it ain’t La Bouillabaisse De L’Atlantique, but rather an unpretentious fish stew, resident of San Francisco, with probable origins in the galleys of fishing boats operating out of San Diego, Monterrey …
Be it chicken salad, ham salad, or tuna salad, sandwich spreads all have a common base theme. And here it is (for two modest sandwiches, using two hard-boiled eggs or equivalent chicken or one can of tuna): 3 level tablespoons of mayo (Trader Joe’s has a good mayo with nice lemon notes). If too dry …
It fell upon instructor Chef Samchet Chumpepo, at the French cooking school I trained at for a year, to gather up the after-class leftovers. It was an efficient kitchen with little left over after 24 hungry student-cooks ate their mistakes. Salads, chicken, fish, and bits of beef she’d trash. But every grain of rice was …
Tired of sharp cheddar on a toothpick or peanut butter on a Triscuit? Awful then and awful now. Instead, look for Stacey’s Naked Pita Chips and/or Stacey’s Naked Bagel Chips. On them, try soft cheese plus shaved celery plus hot sauce, or sharp cheddar plus a pear slice plus honey, or goat cheese plus Spanish …
While cruising the aisles of the Giant Food Market, I’ve noticed quite a few shoppers holding their phones in one hand while pushing their carts with the other. Those with phones use a to-do application. For grocery listing, the best app for Android, iPhone, and on the Web is AnyList.com. AnyList is loaded with features …
We sharpened residents’ knives, building by building and for the outliers in June and July, and again on the Monday before Thanksgiving. A total of about 160 knives. Brands represented included Henckel, Wusthof, Cutco, Global, and one very old Sabatier black iron knife that took a fine edge. There were other old no-name black iron …
Lots of steps are involved in preparing dinner, lots of decisions — like how much of this and how little of that. Some easy to pull off, some hard. So here we have a few essentials: It’s easy: To burn butter or burn onions in a too-hot pan. To overcook bacon in a too-hot pan …
Taco Night in the main dining room should not be missed. The chefs present proper beef and fish tacos with sour cream, red salsa, and guacamole condiments, as well as beans and rice sides. But I like taco salad — maybe even better — as it is arguably a simpler and more complete all-in-one dish. …
“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 …
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. …
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