Category: Kitchen IQ

Pasta Carbonara
Kitchen IQ

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.

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Measuring Spoons
Kitchen IQ

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.

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Pasta, cooked in a small amount of sub-boiling water
Kitchen IQ

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.

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Two Peaches
Kitchen IQ

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.

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Caramelized Onions in Bowl
Kitchen IQ

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.

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Pinocchio Nose
Kitchen IQ

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.

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mire poix - onions, carrots and celery
Kitchen IQ

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.

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mise en place for butternut squash risotto
Kitchen IQ

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.

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Spring onions on market stand.
Kitchen IQ

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.

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