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.
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 …
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 …
CRAB CAKES III (80mm ring molds=4cakes; 60mm=6 cakes;40mm=12 cakes)1 lb jumbo lump crab meat1 egg1 T Dijon mustard4 dashes Tennessee Sunshine2 T chopped fresh parsley1 t Worchester sauceS/P TT5 T fresh breadcrumbs or Panko¼ C Wondra flour or AP flour2T butter or mild EVOO1. Pick crab meat over and set aside in colander to drain2. …
Josh Niland is a young Australian chef who trained and works in Sydney. His take on how to cook, eat and think fish is inventive, thoroughly grounded, lucidly presented and beautifully photographed in The Whole Fish Cookbook. Niland champions preparing and eating the whole product, which is much in style these days among young chefs. …
Rainier cherries have the highest sugar content in the cherry family. I buy them every season for breakfast cereal, smoothies and to make ice cream. However, pitting cherries one at a time is a slow process, with hits, misses and pits flying everywhere. I hate doing it. So here’s the solution: Can’t say this is …
When doing a stagiaire at The George Town Club one afternoon, I prepared a batch of pommes de terrre rissolee. The chef placed two “football potatoes” on each entree plate as an amuse-bouche, to the delight of the club dinners. The French classic sauteed/roasted potato dish called Pommes de Terre Rissolees calls for small potatoes …
Located in Silver Spring, Maryland, Mia Rhee makes beautiful pottery. The pottery I like is functional everyday stuff in the kitchen, pantry and fridge, on the dining table and even the coffee table–holding all manner of products with grace, style and artful delight. My latest acquisition is a set of Mia’s rice bowls featuring a …
I’ve used a food vacuum machine for 15 years. Wore out the first one, an “external” vacuum machine by FoodSaver (still available at Costco’s). Then upgraded big time to this “internal” chamber vacuum. I buy, then portion, vacuum package and freeze individual servings of salmon, halibut, large uncooked shrimp (four to a pack), boneless pork …
Josh Donald has written an excellent tutorial on kitchen knives. Their lure, their history, their designs, their popularity, their steel types, their preferred uses and sharpening. Whew … that’s a lot in one small book but he pulls it off quite well–well enough to read it you’re into fine kitchen knives. First off, kitchen knifes …
