A roast to toast to

December 21, 2010

Funny thing happened the other day. I was talking to my mother-in-law on the phone, helping to plan our Christmas Eve dinner. She has a pork loin roast in the freezer and wants to make it on Friday. So she picked out a recipe, and was reading it to me. And it sounded really familiar.

Video: The hows and whys of brining, turkey or otherwise

November 22, 2010

As I explain in this video that I made a couple of years ago at now-defunct Copia, brining is so simple – and it makes such difference.

It’s basically soaking protein in a saltwater solution to enhance both flavor and texture. The solution can be enhanced with sugar, herbs and spices, and aromatics like onion and garlic, but it’s not necessary. Just salt will do the trick.

Obsessed with Salmon Caesar

June 17, 2010

I’ve been obsessed.

Not with expensive shoes or daytime soap operas or Facebook – so I guess it could be worse.

The object of my obsession is Salmon Caesar Salad.

It started about a month ago, when I was working on a story for Bon Appétit, for holiday roasts. One of the recipes was for Rosemary-Rubbed Side of Salmon, which meant, in varying-sized hunks, I cooked my way through about seven pounds of the stuff. And not just garden-variety salmon – beautiful, succulent, sweet, creamy salmon from the best fish market in town. $116 worth, thank you very much Bon Appétit.

Lessons in Food and Wine Pairing: One that didn’t work.

February 17, 2010

I thought it might be interesting to talk about a recipe that I cut from my book, “100 Perfect Pairings: Entrees to Enjoy with Wines You Love,” because I couldn’t make it, well, a perfect pairing!