• High Five: Chinese Five Spice Powder - Chinese five-spice powder is a seasoning blend most popular in Chinese cuisine, but found in other Asian cookery as well. Somewhat obscure to the average American it is composed of equal amounts of ground Sichuan pepper, fennel seed, cinnamon, star anise and cloves. Five-spice powder is considered to be a culinary Yin and Yang as it purportedly balances an array of taste sensations: salty, bitter, sour, sweet, and pungent. (Added: 7-Jul-2009 Hits: 0 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• Holiday Baking - One of the most renowned Christmas culinary traditions is baking. There are countless classic preparations the world over. The French produce Buche de Noel, or Christmas log; a log shaped cake. The Germans are known for their Stollen, a bread made from fruits and nuts. (Added: 20-Dec-2006 Hits: 222 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• Holiday Party Hors d'oeuvres III - Welcome to the third edition of holiday party hors d'oeuvres. Below are a variety of recipes to try for your holiday get-togethers. (Added: 14-Dec-2005 Hits: 890 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• Holiday Party Hors d'oeuvres IV - Hors d'oeuvres are an indisputable mainstay of holiday get-togethers. But hors d'oeuvres are also loved year round. What's not to love? A smorgasbord of scrumptious, bite-sized morsels to be consumed with glee and your favorite beverage. Below are some recipes for you to try at your holiday party. May you all have a healthy, safe, and delicious holiday season. (Added: 26-Dec-2007 Hits: 131 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• Hollandaise - Hollandaise is one of the "mother" sauces of French cuisine, i.e., a primary sauce from which other sauces are derived. (Added: 5-Jul-2007 Hits: 238 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• Hot & Steamy - Steaming is a wet cooking method whereby heat is transferred to the food via conduction, (from direct contact with the water vapor), and convection, (from the upward motion of the water vapor). Steaming is a highly effective mode of transferring energy yet gentle at the same time. Thus, it is ideal for more delicate meats and vegetables which would be damaged by the greater agitation and disruptive force of boiling or simmering water. (Added: 27-Jul-2006 Hits: 177 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• How To Choose The Right Cookware - What factors entered into your last cookware procurement? Price is always a consideration. But were you influenced by the color, the neat little glass lid that allows you to see inside, or maybe the free utensils it came with? (Added: 28-Jan-2004 Hits: 547 Rating: 10.00 Votes: 1)

• I Can't Believe It's Not Butter - While buttermilk is not butter per se, when making it in the traditional manner, tiny flecks of butter may be present in the liquid. Thus, some modern producers of buttermilk may add tiny butter particles to simulate the classical product. Some also add salt. (Added: 17-May-2010 Hits: 0 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• I Did it My Way - Everyone has heard the term "control freak," which describes a personality dominated by a need to control others and situations. In essence, the person wants things done their way with little or no regard for other's wishes. The truth of the matter is we're all control freaks; it's just a matter of degree. It's human nature to pursue our innate inclinations and construct an environment amenable to our desires. (Added: 1-Nov-2006 Hits: 386 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• I Left My Heart in San Francisco - I proposed to my wife on San Francisco's China Beach, which lies near the entrance to San Francisco Bay. The sound of the ocean, the panoramic view, and the Golden Gate looming over the eastern horizon made for a sublimely romantic interlude; a memory that I will cherish forever. The second best thing about San Francisco was the food and wine. Naturally as a chef, wherever I vacation, seeking out the local delicacies is always in the forefront of my itinerary. Given that this was my pre-honeymoon, I was in an even greater celebratory mood. (Added: 28-Sep-2006 Hits: 183 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• I Think, Therefore I Don’t Eat - Individuals' receptivity to any food is highly dependent on their beliefs about it. If one concludes that a particular food is disgusting, unhealthy, immoral, or weird, he or she is likely to avoid it. Examples abound. The 16th century Europeans shunned tomatoes and potatoes, believing them to be poisonous. The Reverend Sylvester Graham, creator of Graham crackers, believed that consuming ketchup and mustard led to insanity.... (Added: 2-Mar-2005 Hits: 262 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• Ignorance is... - ...let's contemplate an example of when ignorance may be blissful. The other night I was at a party where I was the sole wine aficionado. We were all seated around this large table prepared to eat when the host produced a number of bottles of this dubious quality, mass-market, varietal wine. Encased in pretty colored bottles designed for impulse buys and not the serious palate, it's a quaffable yet simple wine at best. One of the bottles was a white varietal yet he was serving it at room temperature. (Added: 31-Jan-2008 Hits: 120 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• In the Nick of Thyme - Last night I was sharing a bottle of Tuscan wine with my date as I pondered what to write for this week's edition of my column. I was only a few days away from my deadline and deep in the throes of writer's block. "Why not something on herbs or spices?" queried my sultry wine-loving companion. Her suggestion, pardon the pun, arrived in the nick of "thyme." (Added: 9-Mar-2006 Hits: 318 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• In the Thick of it - Sauces come in a seemingly infinite number of styles. The ingredients, methods, and applications for sauces almost know no bounds. And while sauces certainly vary in terms of their viscosity, thickening them is an oft-needed necessity. (Added: 28-Sep-2005 Hits: 454 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• Into the Frying Pan - Considered a dry heat method, sautéing is an ideal means for searing or browning food, a process that imparts significant flavor. To accomplish this you need high heat and must not introduce the food until the pan and fat have been heated first. If the pan/fat are not hot enough, the food will not sear properly, will stick, and will absorb some of the fat. (Added: 16-Feb-2005 Hits: 725 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• It Was a Very Good Year - Have you ever pondered over a choice of wine at a store or restaurant and been steered toward a particular selection by the staff because it was from a "good" year? What exactly does that mean? Most people have a general understanding that a wine's year relates to its quality. But you'll need a little more knowledge about the annals of wine to prevent being steered into a possible head-on collision. Sometimes an opportunistic store or restaurant seeks to unload its off-year undesirables on unsuspecting folks. (Added: 24-Jul-2008 Hits: 0 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• It's the Great Pumpkin - Pumpkins are fruits from the gourd family and originated in Central America. As stated, the Native Americans introduced them to the early colonists and they have been a Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas favorite ever since. (Added: 27-Oct-2004 Hits: 313 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• Ladies of the Evening - Puttanesca sauce, most often employed for pasta, originated in Naples. It is made from tomatoes, black olives, capers, anchovies, onions, garlic, and herbs, usually oregano and parsley but sometimes also basil. It is an easy sauce, briefly cooked, and is very fragrant and spicy. Puttanesca translates as "in the style of the whore." The name derives from the Italian word puttana which means whore. Puttana in turn arises from the Latin word putida which means stinking. Now I'll bet your wondering how this tasty dish became associated with such sordid content. (Added: 31-May-2006 Hits: 377 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• Let Them Eat Cake - There are many types of cakes and a variety of methods for creating them. Cakes can be generally divided into two categories: foam cakes and shortened or butter cakes. (Added: 7-Jun-2006 Hits: 288 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

• Let's Go Dutch - A Dutch oven is a cast iron pot, (usually of large size), with a snug fitting lid. There are a number of theories as to how the Dutch oven got its name. The first comes from the fact that during the 1600's the Dutch had the most advanced method of forging cast iron into cookware. (Added: 28-May-2008 Hits: 0 Rating: 0 Votes: 0)

Prev 20 Next 20