I have been speaking on this subject for years, going back to my days formulating pasta sauces and NOT agreeing with food scientists and manufacturing consultants insisting I put additives to extend shelf life in my products. I find many labels that are just way too long and have up to 20-30 ingredients, many of them preservatives, dies, conditioners, texture enhancers, etc.
Read MoreI spend a lot of time thinking about food, I’ve been criticized or “ribbed” about this personality flaw by my wife, and several past girlfriends. I am constantly talking about the next meal, or food trends I’m infatuated with, or food products I want to develop.
Read MoreThis a quick episode today to explain how I recently made extremely crispy lard-roasted potatoes that went alongside a ribeye steak. This “technique” is like many, not my invention and not the invention of the person you might have heard it from before….if that makes sense.
Read MoreThink about this, if you have a can of tuna, a jar of peanut butter, some bullion, and a jar of BBQ sauce what are you going to make? On the flip side if you had a can of roast beef, a box of potato flakes, some bullion, and a can of vegetables you could make a beef stew. The idea is to make sure these bundles or kits are built with related items that go easily together into simple meals.
Read MoreThe other night I had some friends and relatives eat dinner with me. I made a simple menu consisting of chicken Cacciatore and roasted broccoli. The broccoli was a huge hit!
Just about everyone was busy chomping and crunching up the broccoli and mumbling things about how tasty it was. Here is the trick…..FIND FRESH BROCCOLI!
Read MoreI have mentioned the term “mise en place” before and emphasized how important it is if you plan on becoming a better cook. It means “everything in its place” and is the foundation of the French culinary discipline. Anyone who has worked in a professional kitchen knows this term and uses this discipline daily.
Read MoreToday’s show is done at the behest of one of my Telegram subs and is my attempt to let you see how chefs think at work, and at home too. This topic could go in many directions so I hope I did justice to this subject and provided some helpful insight into how I try to process home cooking using my chef background.
Read MoreToday I’m going to discuss gastrique, an old-school sauce that you hardly see anymore but one that has a ton of potential uses, from sauces to vinaigrettes even for some desserts!
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