There are plenty of cooking knives for sale on late night TV. You’ve seen the info-mercials. These amazing knives cut aluminum cans and shoes! I’ve been cooking for a long time, and I’ve never had to cut a can or a shoe. What makes this the test of a great knife?
I saw a TV commercial ... Views: 802
Fathers day presents from the kitchen are a great idea for the dad that cooks. Men and women cook differently. Men need gadgets, men like tools, and some of the best new dishes he’ll create may be because of the new device you’ve given him.
Today, I’ll go through my kitchen drawers and ... Views: 1016
Cooking brown rice can be very confusing if you pay attention to a written recipe or package instructions. There’s more than one way to cook brown rice, just like there’s more than one way to cook chicken, beef, or vegetables.
Brown rice is whole-grain rice that is less processed than white ... Views: 1072
Simple cooking is the best cooking. There, I said it for the 1000th time! No matter where I travel, no matter to whom I speak, those people and cultures that know good food say the same thing. In Paris, the spice store shared his incredibly simple secret to eating healthy, “Simple things are ... Views: 1119
Do you want to cook simply and still ensure that your kitchen is only producing healthy meals? Then you are going to love the idea that I'm going to share with you today. I just received my first produce box! This produce box is filled with healthy, fresh ingredients that practically guarantee ... Views: 1173
A potluck party can be a food nightmare. As a professional Chef and caterer, few things offend my culinary senses more than the holiday potluck party. With hot items going cold, badly portioned and picked-through platters, nacho dip next to brownies, and unidentifiable entrees all sharing the ... Views: 1080
Apple Cranberry Sauce is something unique that you can add to your holiday table this year and avoid the gelatinous creature that slides from a can every holiday meal.
I’m not crazy about cranberry sauce in the first place. Cranberries are very tart and sour. That’s why they’re combined ... Views: 1155
If you could cook like me and create quick dishes every night of the week, you’d never need a recipe book. Without a recipe book, you’d never need to stress about dinner. It’s the written recipe that causes so much anxiety about preparing family dinners.
Are you always trying to figure out ... Views: 1190
Cutting vegetables is so much easier when you don’t have to take out your chopper/dicer device. You might think that the electric gadget is quicker and easier than your standard chef’s knife, but you’d be wrong.
Let’s have a race. Ready, go! Get your chopper appliance down from the ... Views: 858
If you’re writing a menu for brunch, don’t forget Shirred Eggs. They’re extremely simple, can be made well in advance, and make a great table presentation.
People love foods in individual serving dishes. In my many years of Catering, I’ve seen the trends come and go, but high visual appeal ... Views: 1285
Choosing a flaky pie crust or a mealy pie crust for you pie can mean the difference between pie pride and pie purgatory. It’s not that you need different recipes for the two types of pie crust, you just need to employ two different methods.
Flaky pie crust will absorb more moisture than a ... Views: 2752
Are you looking for fresh cooking ideas for your family? You may need to start paying more attention to where your food comes from. Fresh cooking starts with fresh ingredients and the fresher your ingredients, the more "gourmet" your cooking is going to taste. Where my food comes from is of ... Views: 890
Making your own brown sugar ham glaze is so simple that you won’t need to buy a commercially prepared sweet-baked ham this year. You can save money by buying, baking, and glazing your own ham this holiday season.
Brining Turkey is Better Than Burning Down Your House was my advice for people ... Views: 4514
If you want to know how to cut onions and aren’t easily fooled by late night TV commercials, I’m about to save you a tremendous amount of time and money.
I have a neighbor that owns every kitchen gadget and appliance available. She must have the QVC shopping network on speed-dial. These ... Views: 1225
Professional Chefs know how to make homemade sauces using basic cooking methods, not written instructions. That’s why you won’t see a truly skilled cook run for a recipe when they need a sauce. Empowered with HOW to make a sauce, they don’t need a recipe to say WHAT to put in it.
A good ... Views: 1213
Professional Chefs know how to make homemade sauces using basic cooking methods, not written instructions. That’s why you won’t see a truly skilled cook run for a recipe when they need a sauce. Empowered with HOW to make a sauce, they don’t need a recipe to say WHAT to put in it.
A good ... Views: 1125
Knowing how to make sauces is a necessary kitchen skill. The best sauce can make up for a dry piece of chicken, but the worst sauce will certainly ruin any dish.
There are three basic ways to thicken liquids, but they all have to do with gelatinization of starches, the point at which starch ... Views: 850
Mahi mahi recipes are no different than any other recipe. I’m sure you know by now how I feel about recipes. They have inherent flaws that make them very difficult to duplicate consistently. If you’re going to get varied results from the same recipe, why even follow it in the first ... Views: 1576
Have you ever taken the results of your family’s Christmas cake recipe out of the oven and been disappointed? How can the same recipe created year after year always come out differently? “Why didn’t my cake BAKE correctly?”
I’m here to tell you that the problem with most home baking ... Views: 1320
Have you ever taken the results of your family’s Christmas cake recipe out of the oven and been disappointed? How can the same recipe created year after year always come out differently? “Why didn’t my cake BAKE correctly?”
I’m here to tell you that the problem with most home baking ... Views: 889
I’m so happy to share more quick dishes for everyday cooking with you. Earlier this week, I caught a Taco Fish and helped you discover the simplicity of a basic breading procedure you can use on any ingredient in your pantry.
In the time it takes most people to just FIND the right recipe, I ... Views: 1048
Gravlax Roses can make a simple and attractive holiday appetizer from dry-cured salmon. Whether you cure the salmon yourself, or just purchase it, my simple procedure can be the focus of a fancy appetizer selection that only you know was quite simple.
To me, the definition of cooking is ... Views: 1220
Spritz cookies are my favorite cookie at the holidays. I don’t make them any other time of the year, just as I don’t watch “A Christmas Carol” or “The Grinch” in July. These cookies bring back strong childhood memories for me, mostly of my Mom’s frustration with her antique cookie press.
If ... Views: 757
Thanksgiving potatoes are boring. If you’re serving the same mashed potatoes year-after-year, you know what I’m talking about. Do you have relatives that insist on the same old menu each holiday? Will Aunt Francis refuse to attend if you don’t serve the family mashed potato recipe?
Face ... Views: 1045
The idea of great cookies from scratch is what brings people back to their kitchens this time of year. Even people that don’t bake for the other eleven months of the year, somehow find themselves back in the kitchen for holiday cookie time.
Whether you have fond childhood memories of baking ... Views: 695
My Grandmother used cornstarch to make turkey gravy. My Mother inherited this procedure of dissolving cornstarch in water to thicken the drippings. Well, this generational laziness stops here!
If your family is like mine, your elders will be sliding the roasting pan from the oven in a few ... Views: 1413
Do you start thinking about uses for leftover turkey as soon as the meal begins or does all that food just get loaded into your refrigerator?
Since thanksgiving cooking planning starts at your desk and not your stove, you may not have any food remaining after the meal. To reduce wasted time, ... Views: 1025
Most home cooks would begin searching cookbooks for a Chicken Kiev recipe that met their tastes, cooking skill, and ingredients on hand. This is most often a time consuming task. Actually, it takes MORE time just to find the recipe that it would to cook this stuffed chicken entrée.
In ... Views: 2214
This Strawberry Pie Recipe Is a Great Method for Any Other Fresh Fruit Pie.
Unlike canned fruit, fresh fruit does not come with extra liquid. However, we do need some liquid to use as a binder for our pie. If we just sliced strawberries, placed them on the right type of flakes pie crust, and ... Views: 1103
“What has less flavor than water?” I pose the question to my cooking college class. Nothing! Nothing has less flavor than water. If you’re thinking about poaching fish, chicken, or eggs, why not ADD flavor to the final result by cooking them in a flavorful liquid?
That’s the first rule of ... Views: 4193