Brioche–memories of Paris and fear of failure, well mixed. But no longer. I lucked into a copy of Ciril Hitz’s book Baking Artisan Pastries and Breads, watched the included DVD, and now I have no more fear of failure. With brioche, that is.

Categories: baking, bread, technique
Tagged: baking, bread, technique

Back in the 80′s I was Pastry Chef at The Winchester Inn in Ashland, Oregon. Among my duties was soupmaking, and over the years I worked there I must have made more than a thousand pots of soup, including several hundred batches of a deceptively simple soup called Cultivator. I may not have remembered the [...]

Categories: dairy-free, gluten-free, soup, stock, technique, vegan, vegetarian
Tagged: dairy-free, gluten-free, soup, stock, technique, vegan, vegetarian

The first time I saw Pumpkin Parmesan Sauce I thought it sounded awful. I couldn’t imagine the combination. So I tasted it. Wow, instant addiction! Just a few days ago, the neighbors gave us an extra pumpkin.

Categories: entrée, sauce, soffritto, technique
Tagged: entrée, sauce, soffritto, technique

The holiday season is in full swing, there’s snow on the ground here in East Tennessee, the wind is howling like a banshee, and it’s below freezing. It must be time for cookies!

Categories: baking, cookie, mother recipe, technique
Tagged: baking, cookie, mother recipe, technique

Like many cooks, I’ve heard about cooking sous vide (under vacuum), but not tried it because the necessary equipment is a bit expensive for experimenting. Fortunately for me, I’m the Culinary Expert at my local Williams-Sonoma, and I had the opportunity to spend some quality time with the Sous Vide Professional (TM) from PolyScience and [...]

Categories: seafood, technique
Tagged: seafood, sous vide, technique

Honestly, the third day of cooking was probably unnecessary. I could have just eaten these short ribs on the second day, but I wanted fresh noodles rather than mashed potatoes and I just didn’t have the time to make noodles, so they got an extra day of cooking. Day1. I dredged some beef short ribs [...]

Categories: beef, braising, entrée, pasta, technique
Tagged: beef, braising, entrée, pasta, technique

Over the past year I’ve seen a lot of posts about macarons filled with spectacular and stylish photographs and gushy praise for the cookies. I assumed that any cookie with stores dedicated to it and books written about it must be at least as special as the chocolate chip cookie, so I decided I, too, would take [...]

Categories: baking, dairy-free, dessert, gluten-free, rant, technique, vegetarian
Tagged: baking, cookies, dairy-free, dessert, gluten-free, mother recipe, rant, technique, vegetarian

One of the more interesting Chinese cuisines is medicinal foods, foods that are designed specifically to aid in the correction of health problems while providing a nutritious and tasty meal. If you’d like an excellent introduction, I suggest Henry C. Lu, Chinese System Of Food Cures: Prevention & Remedies. Unlike the dietary “cures” often touted [...]

Categories: dairy-free, dessert, gluten-free, infusing, technique, vegan, vegetarian
Tagged: dairy-free, dessert, gluten-free, technique, vegan, vegetarian

There’s a first time for everything, and this time was my first making focaccia. I’ve made various other breads, but never once had I made a flatbread of any sort. Somehow I’m not surprised that it’s easy. The process takes about 5½ hours, so have something else to do if you want to make this [...]

Categories: baking, bread, mother recipe, technique
Tagged: baking, bread, mother recipe, technique

Usually I avoid a complicated combination of multiple recipes in one post, but everything except the rub I put on the sirloin was made from scratch in class last Sunday so it certainly can be done in one post. Besides, the people attending the class insisted that I post it. First, the rub. I created [...]

Categories: beef, condiments, entertaining, entrée, lunch, salad, searing, supper, technique
Tagged: condiments, entertaining, entrée, lunch, main course, salad, supper, technique