THIS IS THE TALE OF a third-degree separation from two of the most prestigious knifemakers in Europe. In addition to regular sharpening and honing, home cooks are supposed to have their knives professionally sharpened once yearly. Thus, one recent Friday,…
Tag: cooking
Creations a la Chez Nealo.
Bonite a la Maison A.
ALBACORE GETS ALL THE PRESS when it comes to canned tuna, but skipjack is the preference ’round here due to its richer flavor. (Think of it as a “white meat / dark meat” thing.) And the preference for preparing an…
How to Cook Anything, in Four Easy Steps
1. PREPARE INGREDIENTS. 2. Combine them. 3. Adjust temperature as necessary. 4. Serve. (To paraphrase the sage Hillel, “The rest is dishwashing. Now go dry.”)
A Prosatio Silban Amuse-Bouche: Room
“DOESN’T IT MAKE YOU CLAUSTROPHOBIC to cook in such confinement?” asked a visitor to Prosatio Silban’s close-quartered galleywagon. “Less than you would think,” the beefy cook answered over the chop-chop-chop of mincing lizard-breast. “I actually find that it makes me…
Why I Love: My Dad
IT’S HIS CONTAGIOUS JOIE DE vivre. It’s his insistence that I watched Sgt. Bilko, Jack Benny and Ernie Kovacs reruns with him when I was a kid. It’s the skiing memories. (It’s also the memories of the Plymouth, New Hampshire…
5 Thoughts: Lessons Learned by an Autodidactic Home Cook
1. THE SMALLER THE KITCHEN, THE greater the discipline. And the organization. 2. Thrift rules. In other words, there are no such things as “leftovers” — only the beginnings of future meals. (Thank you, Tamar Adler, for this bit of…
Blow ‘Em Out
AS DETAILED IN A PREVIOUS post (c. 2010), every March my sister asks what I would like for my birthday (it’s on the 22d, BTW) and my answer is always the same: “I already have everything I need.” That said,…
There is no such thing as ‘too much garlic.'”
— Your author, in a culinarily inspired moment
How to Dress a Salad
THIS IS A DEVICE OF my own invention, based on a semi-traditional vinaigrette formula, with additives. It will keep unrefrigerated for a couple of weeks (perhaps longer, but at a salad or two a week I haven’t had a chance…
Why I Love: Cooking (Rewind)
IT’S THE PROCESS OF SCRAWLING ingredients on a shopping list, buying them, unpacking them, staging them, using them. It’s the quiet alchemy of watching those ingredients transform into something delicious and nourishing. It’s the adrenaline rush of following a new…
ORL Interview: Ivan Stang
INTERVIEWING ONE’S CULTURAL HEROES IS one of the greatest thrills of a career in journalism — even of amateur journalism. Such was the position in which I found myself while working for Obscure Research Labs in the early-to-mid-1990s. It gave…
5 Thoughts: Confessions of a Vicarious Eater
1. “WHAT DID YOU EAT?” THIS question works its way into every conversation I have or had with someone (online and off) relating to culinary experiences. 2. There’s a reason for this: I am obsessed with matters gastronomical. Not in…