Chew on this.

“Learning another cuisine is like learning a language.  In the beginning, you know nothing about its most basic rules of grammar.  You experience it as a flood of words, or dishes, without system or structure.  When I first went to China, I was already fluent in the language of basic French cookery.  I could make… Continue reading Chew on this.

Wild Turkey

Nothing like a little wild turkey to follow a blizzard. This was the scene out my bedroom window this morning.  The sheep were highly amused. Speaking of Wild Turkey, I definitely plan on warming up at the end of this long snow day with this recipe for a Hot Toddy, posted this morning by Edible… Continue reading Wild Turkey

Ode to The Minimalist

It was announced yesterday that Mark Bittman’s weekly column in the New York Times will end its thirteen year delicious, informative, enthusiastic, and encouraging run. I have learned many lessons from Mr. Bittman’s column.  Starting in 1997, a year after I graduated from college, I cooked recipe after recipe from his writing and suggestions and… Continue reading Ode to The Minimalist

Flavored Salt

In honor of last week’s National Popcorn Day, I’ve done some tinkering in the kitchen with flavorings.  My favorite project was coming up with different flavored salts.  It is outrageous that I haven’t done this sooner, and even more outrageous the number of super costly little precious jars of flavored finishing salts that I have sitting… Continue reading Flavored Salt

Chew on this.

“To me, the farmers and producers who bring us wonderful foods are heroic.   Whatever they grow, I want to eat: they inspire me to crave variety.  Yet I have found that too many Americans have narrow taste horizons when it comes to trying new foods. Most of us have expanded our taste horizons at… Continue reading Chew on this.

Popcorn

This Wednesday was National Popcorn Day.  Yes, I seemed to miss the parade too. We ate gallons of air popped popcorn growing up.  And later in the 80s, I quite willingly made the transition to the ballooning bags in the microwave.  Then on August 14, 2003 my popcorn life was changed forever.  That day was the massive… Continue reading Popcorn

Pie Crust 101

Bleached flour, partially hydrogenated lard with BHA and BHT, wheat starch, water, xanthan gum, potassium sorbate and sodium propionate (preservatives), Yellow 5, and Red 40. Butter, Flour, Salt, Water, and sometimes an egg. The first is a list of just some of the ingredients of a popular, store-bought, ready-to-unroll, pie crust. The second is what… Continue reading Pie Crust 101

Judy Rogers on Deciding What to Cook

“A truly good meal depends on a cavalcade of sound judgments, many of which occur well before you lift a knife.  When you decide what to cook, you are deciding whether a meal can be really good or not.  If you choose to do a dish you can’t get good ingredients for, one you are… Continue reading Judy Rogers on Deciding What to Cook