Great Cookbooks for Holiday Gifts

December 6, 2011

Welcome to my virtual holiday potluck. Well, not my virtual holiday potluck, but our virtual potluck—meaning you, me, and a bunch of my cookbook author pals.

The idea is, to help celebrate and promote each others’ books, we each write about another’s book , including a recipe and links to all the others’ posts. So you get to virtually experience a potluck of recipes and, perhaps, become inspired to add one (or more) of our books to your holiday gift list.

Cool, eh?

Yay for Chardonnay

November 8, 2011

Chardonnay is kind of the Coke of wines. It’s popular. It’s easy to drink. And it goes with a lot of great foods.

That popularity, however, has led some to look down on Chardonnay. I think the logic is that if it’s that popular, it couldn’t possibly be cool.

How to make soup out of pretty much any vegetable, quickly and easily

February 19, 2011

One of the dishes I made for a recent winemakers dinner was from my book – a silky, sexy Mushroom Sherry Soup. As I demonstrated cooking it for the group, I explained that they could use the same basic method to make soup out of pretty much any vegetable. They were so delighted to learn how quick and easy it is to make homemade soup that I thought I’d share it with you, in the hopes of delighting you, too.

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.

Declare your independence with Cold Cucumber Soup

June 29, 2010

In honor of the Fourth of July and in anticipation of what will likely be a long, hot summer, I propose declaring independence from the cooktop.

Not every night, of course. But what about once a week? Wouldn’t it be great to avoid cooking one night a week?