Food news antipasto
Whenever someone asks me the question, "If you could start over, what profession would you choose?" my answer is "professional baker." There are many reasons that never happened, and recently my excuse has been that I…
Darcie
Crumb coatings make everything better
My husband and I have a running joke that the only thing that cannot be improved by deep-frying is iceberg lettuce. What makes deep frying so special? One reason is the breading or coating that adds a pleasant crunch to…
Spice support: green garlic
Perhaps I'm stretching the definition of spice a bit by including garlic, but it is generally treated more like a spice than a huge part of the meal (chicken with 40 cloves of garlic notwithstanding). Anyway, this post…
Flower cakes that are wobbly works of art
Gelatin cakes are gaining in popularity partly because they are gluten-free and partly because they are fun to eat. While they are often gorgeous to view, they usually don't taste that great. Pastry chef Jena Derman…
Breaking up with sourdough
Back in the early days of the pandemic (I'm sad that I even have to type that phrase), when yeast was nowhere to be found on store shelves, intrepid bakers rolled up their sleeves and went to work making bread the…
Eating (and cooking) as a coping mechanism
Confessions of a stress-eater: I really didn't need that second homemade mint-chocolate chip ice cream sandwich, but I ate it anyway. It was delicious and I regret nothing. Perhaps when I am forced to wear regular pants…
Cool as a cucumber
Whether they are pickled, tossed in a salad, or used in a dip, cucumbers find their way into many meals. They are not typically the stars of any meal, although the team at Serious Eats thinks they are underrated.…
Food news antipasto
We'll start this week's roundup of food news with an announcement from Saveur magazine. In a recent IG post, the magazine said it is bringing back the Saveur 100. You can help contribute to this special issue by telling…
Learning from the masters
Television cooking shows can offer useful cooking tips, workable recipes, and creative ideas on how to showcase unusual ingredients. Sometimes, however, what is being done on the small screen - especially in competition…
Moldy jam causes a stir at Sqirl
Earlier this month I wrote about how there is no clean part of moldy bread. Perhaps I was sensing mold in the air because recent events have brought the subject to the forefront. Jessica Koslow, owner of the highly…
John deBary on the most underrated cocktail
Almost no one has been as steeped in the world of cocktails as John deBary. With law school as his goal, he landed what was supposed to be a temporary job at Jim Meehan's famed NYC bar, PDT, in 2008 during the cocktail…
Ideas to use up your zucchini glut
One of my neighbors gave me some zucchini from her garden last week. I had been waiting for this moment, as I don't plant it in my own garden. Like most people who grow zucchini (aka courgettes or summer squash), my…