CookShelfMeringue is a pastry kitchen staple. Not only is it good as a topping for pie, it's also the foundation for many other sweets, including pavlova, macarons, and buttercream icing. There are three basic types of meringue:…
Have you ever purchased a spice for a recipe, then wonder what to do with the remainder of the package? That has happened to me on more than one occasion, most recently with nigella seeds that I purchased for a dish…
While exotic, expensive ingredients can make a dish shine, some mundane, even cheap, foodstuffs transcend their humble origins. Take the potato, for example. It's equally at home in breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and the…
When planning a holiday dinner, it's often difficult to settle on a dessert. Pies are traditional, but if you have a large crowd gathering around your dinner table it can be a chore to make enough of them to ensure…
White truffle fans, rejoice. An excellent growing season with plenty of rain has created a bumper crop of white truffles in Italy's Tanaro river basin, home to the famous Alba variety of the truffle. Not only is the…
The art of curing and pickling foods is more popular now than any time since prior to the advent of refrigeration. Finding good sources to begin either of the two processes can be confusing, but luckily Food Republic…
When you hear the phrase "Eastern European cuisine", what images come to mind? For many people, the first thoughts they conjure include meaty stews, doughy dumplings, and overcooked vegetables. Recently a new generation…
When my husband and I were traveling through England on our anniversary trip last month, we enjoyed a few meat pies. My husband remarked that the crust was interesting and very different from the flaky pot pie crusts…
The days are getting shorter and colder in much of the Northern Hemisphere right now, and that means winter squash are coming into the markets and finding their way to our dinner tables. Although many different…
This fall, millions of pumpkins will be carved for Halloween or seasonal decorations. Most people will dispose of the seeds and strings they scrape out of the inside. That's a shame, say Nick Kindelsperger and Joseph…
Today is National Pasta Day in the US. The "official" Pasta Day website contains several interesting facts about our favorite carbohydrate. Although Marco Polo has long been credited with "discovering" pasta in Asia and…
When someone mentions tahini, you probably think hummus. While that is a great use for the sesame seed butter, tahini is certainly not a one hit wonder. Cooking Light Magazine explores the many ways to use the paste in…
