• Defining Moments - Take a Delmonico steak for example. What is a Delmonico steak? That depends on who you ask. Get used to that answer right now. It'll make the remainder of this discussion easier to, uh.....swallow.... (Added: 9-Oct-2007 Hits: 251 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• Deglazing: Fond Memories - Deglazing is the process by which the caramelized residue of seared foods is dissolved via liquid in order to incorporate it into the target dish for the purpose of maximizing flavor. Deglazing is the foremost method by which to make a "pan sauce," i.e., a sauce made in the same pan that the primary item was cooked. Most often the seared item is some kind of protein but it could also be vegetables, either as a main dish or as a building block of another dish. (Added: 23-May-2007 Hits: 108 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• Devilishly Good Food - To "devil" food means to impart it with hot and spicy seasoning, inevitably from some form of hot pepper. However, as we shall see with devil's food cake, it can also refer to dishes that are inordinately rich and decadent. Either way, sometimes it's good to be bad! (Added: 25-Oct-2006 Hits: 564 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• Do You Measure Up? - One of the most common questions I get from students in my cooking classes is "How much?" How much oil did you use? How much salt? How much pepper? How much this or that? Some ingredients I almost never measure. With the exception of vinaigrettes, I rarely measure oil. I just pour it in the pan until the bottom's covered. (Added: 7-Nov-2007 Hits: 163 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• Doing the Can-Can - As a chef I typically abhor employing processed, boxed, frozen, or canned food. I normally strive to utilize ingredients that are as fresh as possible. It is a foregone conclusion that fresh food will virtually always taste better than its processed counterparts. Thus, professional chefs and ardent foodies make multiple trips to the grocery store each week to ensure their items are as fresh as possible. People who dislike cooking, or those whose demanding schedules prohibit them from expending protracted time on food shopping and preparation, endeavor to curtail their supermarket excursions. These are the folks most likely to depend on canned foods. (Added: 17-May-2010 Hits: 0 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• Easter Pie - Every Easter when I was a boy I looked forward to my mom's Easter pie. An Italian tradition, "Easter Pie", as it is colloquially known, is a quiche-like, savory pie, filled with eggs, cheese, meat, and a variety of other possibilities. As a kid, all I knew or cared about was that it tasted great. Little did I know that decades later I would be dissecting the intricacies of this festive preparation. (Added: 23-Mar-2005 Hits: 2406 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• Eggplant: A Botanical Identity Crisis - To begin, eggplants are not vegetables but fruits and to take it one step further, a berry to be exact. (Added: 21-Aug-2008 Hits: 0 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• Eggs Benedict: Nothing's Over Easy - The difficulty with making eggs Benedict is properly poaching the eggs, and even worse, making the dreaded hollandaise. Poaching eggs presents two problems: prevention of the dissipation of the whites, and knowing when they're done. (Added: 5-Jul-2007 Hits: 229 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• En Papillote - En papillote is a method of cooking, most specifically a variant of steaming, whereby food is encased in parchment paper and placed in an oven. Herbs, vegetables, and some kind of fluid, such as a sauce, wine, stock, etc., is included. (Added: 6-Jan-2009 Hits: 0 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• Excuse Me Waiter, My Soup is Cold! - Cold soups make for excellent summer fare. The best vichyssoise I ever had in my life was at a French restaurant during a Montreal summer. Humor me. Try the soup in the traditional manner but then, if you must heat it up, (sigh), go ahead. (Added: 30-Jun-2004 Hits: 532 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• Fancy That - People customarily use the word fancy to describe an upscale restaurant. "Where are you going for your birthday?" "Oh, my husband is taking me to a fancy restaurant." What exactly is a "fancy" restaurant? What are the exact criteria that differentiate a "fancy" restaurant from a regular restaurant? I polled about 50 of my friends and various contacts from my culinary work and asked them that specific question. Here's what they said. (Added: 14-Mar-2007 Hits: 199 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• Fast Food - A trend in America that is picking up speed is an increased interest on meals that can be made in a short amount of time. For us cooking buffs, that's shortening our time immersed in an activity we enjoy. (Added: 18-Aug-2004 Hits: 528 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• Fat Is Where It's At - When I was in cooking school one of my teachers was Chef Ted. A tall, imperious and at times stern mentor, Chef Ted possessed superior cooking skills and an extensive fund of culinary knowledge. I learned many things from him, particularly culinary organizational skills and planning. One of his quips that I will never forget was: "All flavor in food comes from fat and salt." With the exception of sugar, he was largely correct. Think of all the foods that taste really good. Inevitably that are fattening, salty or sweet. (Added: 17-May-2010 Hits: 0 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• Fennel: The Spice of Angels - Fennel is quite versatile. It can be braised, roasted or sautéed and incorporated into a wide array of dishes. Personally I like roasted fennel the best. Simply cut it into chunks, coat it with some olive oil, add salt and pepper and the herbs of your choice, and roast it in the oven at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. This is a simple yet splendid way to enjoy fennel. Or, try roasting combinations of fennel and other vegetables. It pairs well with root vegetables such as carrots, celery root, parsnips, and onions. (Added: 24-Apr-2008 Hits: 126 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• Fiesta! - Need a little spice in your life to tide you over till daylight savings time? How about a margarita party! (Added: 18-Feb-2004 Hits: 1012 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• Fire up the Grill! - Nothing epitomizes summer cooking more than grilling. However, grilling can be very confusing. The more recipes, cookbooks, and perspectives you encounter, the greater the diversity of opinion that arises. (Added: 16-Jun-2004 Hits: 893 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• First-Date Food - I was in the midst of not one, but two stuffed lobsters when for a moment, my mind briefly strayed from my ravenous escapade. Lobster, as everyone knows, is a rather messy food and I was devouring mine with wild abandon. As I paused and contemplated the scenario I said to my wife: "This is definitely not first-date food." (Added: 13-Feb-2008 Hits: 79 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• Flavored Oils - A flavored oil is, as its name implies, an oil that has been infused with flavoring elements, such as herbs or spices. They have three primary uses in the kitchen. First and foremost they obviously add flavor. But they also provide a visual appeal as well as a means of enriching a dish without the use of saturated fat. (Added: 17-May-2010 Hits: 0 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• Flour Power - This is the first of a two-part article about flour. We begin by delving into the different types of flour and their distinguishing characteristics, and conclude by examining the myriad of ways that flour can be employed in cooking. (Added: 6-Aug-2008 Hits: 0 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• Flour Power - Part II - In the Previous edition of "Food For Thought" we discussed the different types of flour and their uses. Now we immerse ourselves in the particulars of how to cook with flour. (Added: 14-Aug-2008 Hits: 0 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

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