If it's hot outside, cool pasta salad mixes up with most anything to hand Soup is well known as an ingredient catch-all most of the year but in the hottest summer months, save for a nod to great gazpacho, I say cold pasta salad can fill the same role just as well. Boil any pasta you have around then run it under cold water immediately after to stop the … Read More →
The sort of cake CMOT Dibbler would sell on the streets of Ankh-Morpork In Star Trek, counselor Troi can walk up to a digital wall panel and say “Computer, a slice of cake please.” Ten seconds and a few special effects later she’s got a full fork – no doubt chocolate in her case. Well it seems for tiny cakes of all flavours that future is here now… … Read More →
There's A Clear Winner, But Second Place Isn't Bad I have long used my fancy Japanese rice cooker to make steel cut oats. It can allow for timed cooking AND the all important pre-soak. But you protest “the pressure cooker can too!” and you’d be correct but for one caveat. You can’t pressure cook dairy without creating a curdled mess and milk is what … Read More →
For Edesia's sake, DON’T call it Carbonara! I’m told that geniune Italian handbags are pricey affairs with counterfeits galore at every turn. The same applies to various “authentic” dishes from around the globe, Italy included. And you know Italy, I get it. I totally understand why you’d want to protect a national culinary treasure like Pasta Carbonara. I’d be just as picky … Read More →
When the grapes knock... Our whacky winter supply lines landed some excellent South African grapes on my doorstep this Easter weekend. I couldn’t resist a classic Waldorf Salad in the moment. Details are in my original post here for the uninitiated.
Perfect When There's A Chill In The Air Take a classic like leek & potato soup and boost it with corn, cheddar, chicken, and delightfully crunchy homemade croutons and what do you get? This one-pot wonder chowder made in a hurry to satisfy any fans of the original. Any time of year when a chill wind wanders past… like now on the Spring … Read More →
Zeus Has Them Delivered To Mount Olympus A flavour combination fit for Greek Gods. Inspired decades ago by a pizza joint named Spiro’s that used to be a hundred paces out my front door. Been making them ever since. Tomatoes Oregano Feta Cheese Roast Chicken Artichoke Hearts Black Olives Sundried Tomatoes Mozzarella Basil (or pesto) Enjoy with a Greek salad on the … Read More →
Chorizo This Time But Most Any Fresh Sausage Works This recipe has been part of my culinary DNA for decades. It started life as Mum’s interpretation of a ‘back of the 1970s lifestyle magazine’ casserole and honestly hasn’t changed much since. It’s an easy way to fill a big pan to feed a crowd which is its main objective but you get delicious in … Read More →
Don't rush the crust Pandemic supply line constraints have forced a change in my brand of rye flour which led to a rework of ratios and the addition of a little malt. You might need to adjust a bit too. Rye is tricksie that way. Find the newest formulas in the just-revised original post here. More Spork Here
Begging To Be Filled Chinese buns in their many forms, known collectively as “bao”, are a delight. Baked golden brown, steamed baozi, filled with crispy charred pork belly, stuffed with sticky sweet bar-b-que (char siu bao), made springy with alkali water, pure white mantou, covered in toasted sesame, or a crispy sweet ‘pineapple cookie’ atop bolo bao… there are … Read More →
Ancient Chinese Secret In another fit of spicing, you’re going to need to know how to concoct classic Chinese five-spice. If not today, someday soon. Possibly over the next week as I post some bao experiments. The combination is as follows and like all my blends, should be stored airtight as mixed whole components when possible *. Grind … Read More →
Flexible Finish - Fried, Baked or Sauced Every culture has a favourite dumpling and Italy is no exception. Across the whole of the country gnocchi in its many forms is their answer. While potato-based versions abound, cheese is also used as a base with plenty of regional arguement over naming conventions. Some profess only potato can be called gnocchi with cheese being … Read More →
Rich, Red & Satisfying To match the beans in the previous post, you need to learn the tricks for perfect ‘red rice’, aka arroz rojo. This took me a surprising amount of tinkering to get exactly the way I remembered from countless ‘family style’ Mexican restaurants of my past. These days I’d love to have one near me to … Read More →
A Little Extra Cheese Never Hurts You should all know my obsession with beans by now so I’ll not to bore you yet again. Soak from dry, five times cheaper, etc. etc. Here’s how I make a batch of particularly creamy pinto beans suitable for parking next to Mexican red rice. If you’ve ever been to a family-style Mexican restaurant, you’ll … Read More →
Grind Only As Needed You’re going to need this blend of typically Mexican spices for the next few posts. After utterly failing to convince people to mix by volume and ‘feel’, I’m bowing to pressure to provide exact weights of how I make MY version… or at least how I made it today. It will certainly change over time, … Read More →
Just Say No To Hamburger Helper In my ongoing joust with the scourge of ‘convenience’ food, I was inspired to prove that a simple meat and potatoes gratin could be made from scratch pantry staples just as simply and just as quickly as ready-made ‘Hamburger Helper’ style boxes. My choice in the moment was pork and potato but it could just … Read More →
Rich & Golden Calories For A Cold January You know those piles of discount panettone that popped up on Boxing Day? Don’t pass them by. For the low, low price of a couple bucks you can have phenomenal French toast well into the new year. For the uninitiated, panettone is a decadent Italian holiday tradition in bread form. Rich in butter and dried … Read More →
Now With More Cheese Than Necessary Here’s another update to a post from Christmas Past that I finally got around to translating into video. My original recipe here gets a boost from rosemary and far more cheese than you should eat in one bun but it’s Christmas and indulgence is encouraged. You can of course exercise some restraint and make a … Read More →
Don't Stuff This Anywhere I’m only six years late getting round to putting this on video but it’s still the same delicious holiday “dressing” – the more enlighted version of “stuffing” – I’ve made for decades and talked about in my original post on the topic. Easy. Cheap. Sagely Tasty. Go make some for your next feast but try … Read More →
Personal size cornbread is gone before it has time to go stale Cornbread is easy anytime with only a few pantry staples. From idea to eating in under an hour – half that with a little practice. Only problem is that it doesn’t stay fresh very long and is best eaten right out of the oven or most certainly before the day is over. If you can’t … Read More →
Authentic Whopper Taste Is Hidden In The Details There are many hamburgers in the world. Some thick, some thin, some simple, some complex. Burgers populate backyard parties, beachside picnics, and even posh receptions in equal measure with varying degrees of refinement. A vast corner of food culture sees minimalist mini-burgers with barely more than beef and bun co-exist beside enormous over-the-top versions stacked … Read More →
Frozen Potential In Discworld, Nanny Ogg would say “They make it with banananananas.” She knew how to start saying the yellow fruit’s name but didn’t quite know how to stop. I’ve written down my basic recipe for banana bread long ago but was asked in a forum to be a little more precise with the directions for … Read More →
Cold Fruit For Hot Days I’m easily lured to a clearance sale in the kitchen section of my local megamarket. This was the case one November where, for a whopping $3, I grabbed a set of popsicle molds with deluxe drip-resistant handles. The perfect thing for the start of a Canadian winter, right? I promptly put them in the back … Read More →
Best not to count how many you eat in one sitting Prime grilling season has arrived again and around my kitchen that means “street” tacos cooked over charcoal. The fire is the easy part particularly once you have all the ‘extras’ sorted out. In my case those include a vat of garden-fresh salsa, some well seasoned beans, a little lime and coriander enhanced crema, and a … Read More →
