Don’t Waste Your Leek Greens!
So many recipes with leeks say “only use the white portion” or “only use the white and tender light green portion.” I hate it when I see that!
The Four Classic Roman Pasta Dishes
There’s plenty of pasta dishes to be had in Rome, and myriad more to be had across Italy, but there are four pasta dishes that have become intricately tied to Roman cuisine: Cacio e Pepe, Gricia, Carbonara and Amatriciana.
In Recipes, Measurements Are Guesstimates
Bill Buford’s book Heat is subtitled “An Amateur’s Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany.” He learned a little bit about recipe measurements along the way.
Kenji’s New Way to Cook Pasta
All credit for this technique goes to my favorite celebrity cooking scientist, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt. After giving this technique a try, I’ve never looked back. It’s how I cook short style dry pasta. Give it a try to see if it works for you.
A Tale of Two Peeled Peaches
There are two ways to peel peaches. What are they? When do you choose one way over the other? What are the results? This post will give you the quick lowdown.
You Can’t Caramelize Onions in 10 Minutes!
How often do you see a step in a recipe that goes something like this: “Sauté the onions until nicely caramelized, about 10 minutes”? I’m here to tell you that’s a lie! I’m also here to show you how to properly caramelize onions.
A Teaspoon of Salt is Not Necessarily a Teaspoon of Salt
In an informal experiment, I found there to be a full 100% difference between two readily available brands of salt!
Recipes Lie!
OK, the title is overly assertive. I’ve never reacted to a recipe with “Liar, liar, pants on fire.” But recipes often, for varying reasons, misinform.
Introduction to Aromatics
Aromatics are vegetables that provide deep layers of flavor and aroma when chopped or crushed and then heated. They are the basis to an overwhelming variety of savory dishes.
Introduction to mise en place
Mise en place is all about getting ready to cook. For the home cook, embracing mise en place can mean the difference between enjoyable, rewarding kitchen success and messy, stressful kitchen failure.
A Lot About Alliums
Botanically, the allium family is the king of aromatics: Onions (red, yellow, white, sweet), garlic, leeks, shallots, scallions… These are all alliums.