The other day, our friends at Essex Farm laid a windfall of apple cider on us: pure liquid apple with pleasingly earthy undertones of seeds and stem, or perhaps a wooden cider mill. It was beautiful stuff but too much to consume before it would start fermenting. How to capture that “apple” for the rest of…
Read MoreHow to Never Overcook Fish Again? Slow Roast It!
I was pleased as punch when the great Food 52 told me they were going to feature my Slow Roasted Salmon recipe as a GENIUS recipe. Their words: “The most foolproof way to cook any fish—and a petition for a new cooking term” since slow-roasting fish can take as little as 15 minutes. I learned the…
Read MoreYogurt Sauce with Toasted Spices, Lime Peel and Basil
While I was putting together the recent post about mortars and pestles, I came across Maria Robledo’s beautiful image of one of my favorite mortar-made sauces. I learned the deceptively simple recipe from chef Grey Kunz years ago and it has been enduringly great: an example of the magic of a few well-chosen ingredients artfully combined by…
Read MoreCharlie Trotter’s Brilliant Red Wine Essence
We honor the late chef Charlie Trotter by sharing one of his brilliant creations: Red Wine Essence, one of the most extraordinarily extravagant and extraordinarily delicious sauces in our repertoire, and cunningly easy to make.
Read Morerecipe: roasted pears for sweet or savory improvisations
Throughout fall and winter, one of my favorite improvisational “base” preparations is Roasted Pears. These are pears that are roasted with a bit of sugar, lemon juice, butter and a split vanilla bean or even herbs, until they become tender and caramelized, with a concentrated pear flavor. Roasted Pears are one of those miraculous recipes…
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