I was reading about this lobster festival in Rockland, Maine that happens every August. I put it on my list of random things I want to do. In the meantime, I traveled vicariously by doing a google maps street view tour and making some crab cakes with tartar sauce. I know it’s not lobster, but …
So black cardamom. It has an amazing smokey smell. You’ll want to keep smelling it. It’s used in garam masala, and I hear it’s a good addition to a bloody mary… Don’t put it in your chai, unless you want it smokey. Green cardamom is used there. If you’re wondering where to buy cardamom, Salam’s …
SESAME BUN RECIPE 2 1/4 tsp yeast 1/4 c water (about 110˚) 1 c buttermilk, room temperature 1/4 butter, melted 1 egg 1 3/4 tsp kosher salt 3 1/2 c flour sesame seeds (for garnish) 1. In a large mixing bowl, stir the water and yeast together. Let stand 5 minutes. 2. Add in buttermilk, …
I’ve spent about an hour in Naples, Italy, but I spent almost that entire 60 minutes eating pizza. Actually two pizzas, and a Peroni Nastro Azzurro, from two different pizzerias. I wasn’t going to waste my time in the pizza capital of the world not eating pizza. Pizzaioli (pizza makers) in Naples turn out a …
Being a personal chef, my grocery cart looks pretty strange sometimes for a single guy in his twenties, especially when the guy behind me is buying a couple frozen pizzas and a six pack. I was making banana nut muffins for a brunch the other day and had a lot of really brown, overripe bananas …
Golumpki are Polish cabbage rolls stuffed with beef and rice. It’s pronounced “go-womp-key.” I’m not sure what that “L’s” doing in there. I think it’s Polish people’s way of fishing out the phonies. Now you know. This recipe comes from my Mom, who’s actually Italian, but she got it from my Grandpap on my Dad’s …
People do some crazy things to turkeys: deep frying them, sticking them inside ducks, sticking cans of beer, soda, or whole chickens inside them, stuffing them with Twinkies, or even microwaving them… Seriously, you should check out some of the recipes online. Some of the ideas are enticing (minus the Twinkies and microwaved options), but …
I can’t think of a better comfort food than spaghetti and meatballs. As kids, whenever it was our birthday or we did well on our report cards, we’d get to pick dinner, and my mom’s spaghetti and meatballs was almost always our choice. She’d start the sauce in the morning in the crock pot, and …
My grandpap on my Dad’s side was a chef at the K & K in Carnegie, Pennsylvania. I never got to know him, but his sister told me she’d walk by the kitchen in the morning while they were serving breakfast. There was a window in the back where she would watch him cook. He …
I don’t get why empanadas aren’t more popular in the US. Meat and vegetables in a pastry shell – it’s a meal in an edible container. And then there are fruit-filled ones for dessert. The fillings are endless. Plus, you can eat them out of your hand, no utensils needed, which makes them great for …
