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.
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 aint La Bouillabaisse De LAtlantique, 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 …
My sister described eternity as a couple with a leftover Easter ham. I like sandwich spreads and often prepare chicken, egg or tuna to pile on good bread with lettuce. Not so much with ham spread. But I got an urging, bought a quarter ham, only to discover that I could not find a recipe …
We’re all familiar with the western style boning knife. This one by German Wustof is 5 inches long, machine-forged from 2 mm thick stock. and double edged. It’s a classic because it is light and nimble and very well designed to break down and debone poultry. The Japanese boning knife is called a garasuki. This …
At best, one out of three whole pineapples is perfectly delicious. Got one!I’ve known for years that fresh ground pepper goes well with fresh pineapple. But here for dessert, I added a drizzle of premium light rum from Venezuela.It works–try it, you’ll like it.(As a rule when adding booze to fruit: a drizzle will do, …
The Vermicular multi-cooker ($600) is comprised of two parts: The “musui” a cast iron pot with a machined tight-fitting cover and the “kamado” a cradle for the pot with interior induction heaters bottom and sides and an exterior control panel. Everyone is familiar with slow cookers and multi cookers and what they do, so I’ll …
I’ve had this $600 countertop oven for about four months and still have not used all of its features. Sure, as a warming oven, as a broil-crisper of thawed fries, onion rings and veggies, as a steam baker for Asian steam buns and bagels, as a finisher-broiler of a sautéed steak, the Anova is intuitive, …
I chanced upon LaBoite’s website and got a couple jars of their spice blends out of curiosity since I don’t need more spices. Their selections come with exotic, though not helpful, names such as Shabazi, Safrito, Marrakesh and Oz. But thankfully, each label lists ingredients and suggested uses. For Shabazi its “A Yemenite blend of …
It’s been awhile since I posted–no excuse. Beef steak has fat on it. Waygu beef steak has fat in it, described as “genetic marbling of fat inside the cow’s muscle tissue. The cows are a special breed and hand raised from birth to slaughter. Kobe Beef is a brand name and there are others. Thought …
This is a hand forged–hand hammered 12″ skillet by Smithey Ironware. It is made of 2 mm carbon steel plate. That’s very thick. My 1959 Hong Kong carbon steel wok (at $12.87, the best wok money can buy) is less than 1 mm thick, so too the average crepes pan. At five pounds, this skillet …
