See Also: AndyTalk: Sushi for Dessert – See Also: AndyTalk: Why You Should Make Pizza From Scratch When you do a job and don’t care, everyone knows. The lackluster appearance of halfheartedly prepared food foreshadows the ho-hum flavors to come. The art of cooking goes hand-in-hand with the concept of…
See also: AndyTalk: The Five Most Common Kitchen Mistakes, Starting with Gray Meat I have a drawer at AndyFood labeled “shot glasses.”‘ That’s where I keep all of the more esoteric knives. More to the point, that’s where I keep those knives away from the unknowing. I watch people use…
Even a little steam will warm the meat enough to make it sweat, which means more water and more steam. Once there’s a little water in the bottom of the pan you begin to boil the meat. If you’re a fan of old-style English cooking you’re on the way to a good old-fashioned boiled dinner.
I think that our taste buds are happiest when we combine each of the four primary tastes (in the same way that four-color printing results in better pics.)
If your objection to anchovies is that they’re too salty, you’re right. I’m not telling anyone to eat them like popcorn. Mashed up into a sauce they’re a flavor enhancing salt substitute. In fact, anchovies are a great source of umami – the fifth of the five basic tastes.
Before you jump onto your smoothies-are-supposed-to-be-healthy soapbox I’d like to analogize smoothies to gay marriage.
Anyone with a can of Reddi-Whip and some berries can cobble together a dessert that looks like an American flag. Though that’s not a bad tradition for a Fourth of July picnic, I like to celebrate Independence Day by being a little more decadent and a little less dependent on…
I think of celery the way I think about cigarettes. I recognize the right to light up or crunch, I’d just prefer that the activity not take place in my kitchen or at my table.
If wishes were fishes they might very well be smoked.
Whether it’s a feint by a quarterback, an improvised musical riff, or a magic trick, everyone appreciates a good fake-out — especially when the end result is a success. The first time I served sushi for dessert I had a goal. Actually, I had two goals: First, make a great…
White asparagus are to green asparagus as veal is to beef. They’re not always available, and when raised right, they’re tender and pale. Conveniently, I’m not aware of a single vegetable rights groups proclaiming that growing asparagus in light-deprived conditions (to keep them white) is morally wrong. Last night, I…
A week ago, I tasted my first sweet watermelon of the season. Every year I tell myself that I’ll use more watermelon as an ingredient, but I fall short. I have a curried watermelon recipe that I teach on occasion — it’s my dumbed-down version of a recipe I learned…
Cilantro and its distinct flavor are to food (and food blogs) what abortion, immigration, and gun control are to a presidential election.
There are two things that every guacamole recipe needs; the first is salt and the second is some sort of acid. The salt brings out the flavor in the avocado, and the acid adds dimension and cuts the fattiness.
Don’t: add sparkling water (or 7Up) … That’s a spritzer or wine cooler and you’re either a girl in high school or reliving your glory days as a girl in high school.
A food processor is essential to success here, but it’s not nearly as pricey as a Hadron Collider and there are more practical applications.
I’m not impressed by sleek for sleek’s sake. But this is a James Bond kind of toaster. It’s sleek and functional – like a Beretta.
Just keep in mind that the rice will lose some moisture when it’s grilled. Make sure that you fill the husk with moist rice – and a little cheese wouldn’t hurt.
The smell of steaming or boiling Brussels sprouts is anathema to any sort of mouthwatering Pavlovian response. When I was a kid and my mother made Brussels sprouts (or anything cabbage-related), I’d avoid the smell by staying in my room with the door closed. Self-imposed exile was the lesser evil…
I’m headed to a neighbor’s for dinner, and I want to bring something besides a bottle of wine. I want to bring dessert. I have apples, and I tell myself that I should be able to make a pie. So what if it’s only 3 apples, and I don’t have…
When a tomato is cooked, its inherent sugar caramelizes. That’s why there’s a distinct difference between the flavor of raw and cooked tomatoes. I think we’re genetically predisposed to like caramelized food.A cooked tomato tastes sweeter and less acidic than its raw sister. Cooked tomatoes have rounder tones (to borrow…
There were no tomatoes in Italian food until the late 17th or early 18th century. Indigenous to the New World, it was well after Columbus set sail that tomatoes made their way to the tables of Europe. There were no tomatoes on my own table until about 15 years ago…
