“What, in the name of all that’s culinary, is Ghee?” I hear you saying. In its simplest form, it’s just Clarified Butter. But some of you are now saying, “Clarified? Huh?” So, let’s take a quick trip to India and discover what the stuff is used for, why it’s so highly prized and how it’s made…Read More →
I just read a post elsewhere that claimed to reveal the secrets of ‘roasting veggies perfectly’… The author was so far off base, I felt I should set the record straight in my own forum. So here are my tried and true tips for roasting the Veggies we should all be eating more of…Read More →
I know there are many among you out there who shy away from trying to make anything that needs Yeast to leaven it. But there’s really nothing to this technique, if you know how it works and follow a few common sense rules. Let’s see how it’s done by making Foccacia, an Italian flat loaf…Read More →
Time for another installment in our series on Essential Cooking Techniques. This time we’ll examine the established pantheon of Dry Heat Cooking methods with special attention to that odd place where Moist and Dry Cooking intersect. Hint: Oil and Water don’t mix!Read More →
The overall technique of applying heat to food is broken down into two broad categories: Dry Heat and Moist Heat. And these categories are further subdivided into a number of specific methods. We’ll start today with a rundown of the various Moist Heat cooking methods…Read More →
We’ve covered the basic Knife Skills every serious cook should know. Now, it’s time for an overview of the stirring skills we all need to complete our food manipulation repertoires. As you’ll see, it’s more than just mixing one ingredient into another, or keeping the Red Sauce from burning!Read More →
We’ve all done it, probably more times than we’d like to admit: Looked into a fridge full of food and wondered, ‘What can I make for supper?’ With a little creativity, a few go-to ingredients and a Casserole dish, you’ll always have a ready answer to that immortal question…Read More →
Today we’ll wrap up our overview of culinary knife skills with some Chef’s Secrets that will help make your kitchen cutting, slicing and chopping chores easier, faster and more consistent. Like so many things in life, these tips are more matters of common sense than they are magic…Read More →