This soup didn’t make the final cut for the book. That’s not, I hasten to say, because it’s not absolutely delicious and easy. But we already had a curried soup, and two seemed overkill, so this Thai-flavored smooth and creamy carrot soup ended up on the cutting room floor. When I was cleaning out the…
Cooking
The Honey Badger Cocktail
I’m quite sure that, were it not for that viral YouTube video of a Honey Badger, there would be no cocktails celebrating this ferocious, Cobra-snake-eating badass of an animal. The Honey Badger is what you might call an interpretive cocktail. Drinks based off memes are, by definition, not classics. There are as many variations of the Honey Badger Cocktail…
14 Easy Ways To Bring More Flavor To Your Food
There’s no magic to great cooking – but there are a few tricks. When you cook professionally, you’re always trying to find those little things that can help bump up the flavor of a dish. Here are 14 things that make my cooking better. I’d love to know your tips and tricks – if you’ve got something to…
The Jubilee Cocktail
Let’s say you need a really celebratory cocktail. Perhaps it’s time to toast a new baby, a promotion, or your first harvest of the year. It’s a special day and it deserves a special drink. That’s where the Jubilee Cocktail comes in. It’s a lighter, champagne-flute cousin to the French 75 with a very pleasing balance between grapefruit,…
Kale Florets with Garlic, Chili and Lemon
In case you missed my earlier description, kale florets are the delicious edible flower bud of a mature, overwintered kale plant. You might think of them as bonus no-work broccoli raab. Or perhaps as “the only thing that’s harvestable in the whole damn garden right now.” However you mentally characterize these tender little brassica buds,…
Tart Cherry Mint Mojito
Can we talk for a minute about the amazingness of tart cherries? They make the best jam, the best pie, and the best mojito variation I’ve ever sipped. Now I know what you are thinking. “It’s months from fresh cherry season!” Too true, but thanks to the modern miracle of the deep freeze, frozen tart…
The Sage Brush Cocktail
Happy Friday and Happy Spring, my friends! It’s time for a delicious cocktail to celebrate the transition from Winter to Spring, and I have just the one. This Sage Brush Cocktail is the perfect blend of herbal, tart and sweet. It’s one of those cocktails even non-gin drinkers will likely enjoy. The Sage Brush was developed by Chef Jerry…
How To Make Corned Beef Brisket At Home
Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, it’s time for another giant cured meat tutorial. Our cured meat of focus? Why, corned beef brisket, or course! As you certainly know, there is no corn in corned beef. Originally corned beef was cured with chunky rock salt. Someone thought those nuggets of salt looked like corn…
Simple Creamy Braised Cabbage
If I had to limit myself forever more to a single vegetable, I could first cry out at the injustice of it all, and then grudgingly pick cabbage. I know of no crop more versatile, delicious, adaptable and healthy. This recipe showcases cabbage’s comfort-food side. Slow braised with onions and cream, it ends up sweet…
Easy Guinness Chocolate Cake for St. Patrick’s Day
My maternal grandmother was born and raised in England, and though she lived in the U.S. for decades, her Union Jack pride never flagged. Commemorative plates of Princess Diana decorated her walls, and she insisted on driving north to Vancouver, B.C. periodically to buy tea. “You see,” she insisted firmly, “there is no decent tea in this country.” Every…
7 Simple, Delicious Ways To Use Lemon Peel
I am such a sucker for citrus. If I didn’t hate temperatures over 73 degrees I’d move someplace where I could have my own huge lemon tree in the backyard and spend all day figuring out ways to use bushels of lemons. As it is, I have to buy my citrus, so I try to get as…
Turn A Mason Jar Into A Twine Holder With This Easy Kitchen Hack
I’ve been tying a lot of stuff up lately. Must be that 50 Shades of Grey cultural zeitgeist thing working on me. If you want to make all your kitchen bondage tasks (everything from trussing a beef tenderloin to draining your homemade ricotta) far easier, make yourself a DIY twine holder from a mason jar. This is the simplest kitchen hack…