Ever since my daughter had a cider-cooked gammon on Christmas in England with her now-husband, I’ve been chomping at the bit to make it. It sounds so British, but also so autumnal. First I had to figure out the American equivalent of gammon. Thank goodness I have British blogger friends, who worked tirelessly with my
Tag: white pepper
My girlfriend recently told me about her tried-and-true recipe for fried chicken, which begins with marinating chicken in pickle juice. I have been so intrigued by that and curious about the flavor the juice imparts. She’s promised me to make it when I visit next time, and I can’t wait. I started thinking about pickle
Split pea soup. Easy. Cheap. Satisfying. Healthy. Well, depending how much sour cream you dollop on top… My husband reminded me that he could eat split pea soup every day. The foods I could eat every day are in a very different category, but this soup is what he loves, so I make it for
There are many salmon recipes on this blog, because of all fish varieties, salmon is my favorite. It’s such a versatile protein – one that goes beyond basic grilling, poaching, or smoking. A while back I had a dilemma facing me with two leftover salmon filets. And this is how my salmon rillettes recipe was
On the last season of Masterchef US, season 10, the 4th runner up went home. His name is Noah Sims and he was a favorite. What sent him home was a risotto topped with venison loin. The venison was overcooked, unfortunately for him, but what sent him home was a profound learning experience to me.
My first introduction to pumpkin was probably like every other American’s – pumpkin pie. I had no idea that this lovely pie was made with a vegetable! The horror! I was married and just learning how to cook when I figured this out. Pumpkin, the squash, does not taste like pumpkin pie. It’s kind of
The recipe below is one I’ve saved for years to remind myself to use raisin bread as a stuffing base, a great option from cornbread or sourdough. And finally I decided to try it. However, I could only find raisin bread with cinnamon, which isn’t an ingredient I wanted in the stuffing, mostly because I
The cookbook by Martha Stewart, called Martha Stewart’s Hors D’Oeuvres Handbook, was published in 1999, pretty soon after I started catering. It’s a beautiful book, even if you’re not a Martha Stewart fan. Her ideas for hors d’oeuvres are, not surprisingly, creative and unique. Sometimes they’re on the crazy end of the spectrum – completely
Risotto is one of those dishes that I love to make because I never make it the same way. It’s what I love to do as a cook – improvise! Typically I use butter, aromatics, wine, broth, and finish with cream and/or cheese. But the add-in options are practically endless. I’ve used chopped tomatoes, grated
Recently I was browsing through a little cookbook I’d been gifted, Risotto, published by Williams-Sonoma. It’s a sweet, unassuming cookbook, only 119 pages, published in 2002. The first chapter covers classic risottos, and following chapters discuss vegetable, meat, seafood, and even dessert risottos. It’s a great cookbook, especially if you’re a risotto virgin. For me,