From Scratch

My copy of the Perdue Chicken Cookbook is falling apart, and this recipe is one reason. That’s not to say every recipe’s a winner — I write in my cookbooks and the word “yuck” does appear on those pages — but most are winners and this one’s a champ.
As I noted in my cookbook, this […]

It wasn’t too many years ago that tilapia was relatively new at supermarket seafood counters. Now, according to the American Tilapia Association, it is the fifth most-popular fish in the US. It’s easy to see why. It has only 100 calories and 1 gram of fat per serving (3.5 oz) but it has 90 milligrams […]

Just a few “housekeeping” notes:

Most important is that I disabled the Snap previews of links after learning they can make life difficult for people with slow connections, but especially for some with visual impairments. There is a way for individuals to turn it off on a site by site basis, but disabling it from my […]

Those of us who appreciate political and editorial cartoons are lucky to have any left to appreciate. They’re an endangered species, being killed off by newspapers.
This week, rather than point you to a cartoon, I’m linking to an article about what is happening to this art form and why. It was in CJRDaily, the online Columbia […]

Even here in The Little Snowball it’s finally warm enough for outdoor cooking. For most people I know, that means steaks on the grill and their uniquely wonderful taste. Still, for many beef lovers a steak is only perfect with steak sauce and why not? Who wouldn’t want a filet topped with high fructose corn syrup, salt, […]

Top Chef Season 1 winner Harold Dieterle is in business. His New York restaurant, Perilla, is open and he’s offering 10% off this first week while the kinks get worked out.
The official critics will weigh in later but unofficially, Gawker has already been there. Go here for their take on the place, but if the […]

If you saw my post Just Call Me Avis, you might have guessed WordPress likes rankings and lists. I enjoy them because they introduce me to blogs I’d never find otherwise.
One of them is I Can Has Cheezburger?, which is usually at or near the top of WP’s list of most popular blogs. It’s full […]

When Knopf announced a June 19 publication date for A Woman in Charge, Carl Bernstein’s biography of Hillary Clinton, some news stories noted another Hillary biography was due in August. Little, Brown will publish Her Way by New York Times reporters Jeff Gerth and Don Von Natta, Jr. Now, Little, Brown is moving the publication […]

I’ll come right out and say it. I hate mayonnaise. Never liked it, always hated it. To this day. Odd, perhaps, for a woman who has willingly eaten and enjoyed pigs’ feet, beef heart and wild boar, but there you have it. I am a mayo-free zone.
But I’ve never met a potato I didn’t like; […]

Bravo has finally put information about Season 3 on its annoying, tiny-print website. The competition kicks off Wednesday, June 13 and, as noted here earlier, this season will be from Miami with Queer Eye’s Ted Allen joining the judges. But first, on Wednesday, June 6 there will be a matchup between Season 1 and Season 2 contestants. […]

It used to amaze me that people other than chefs could cook without recipes, even simple things, but somehow I progressed to that point. I’m still amazed by those who can concoct elaborate dishes but I am able to create ways of using things up. That’s how this recipe came about and I’ve made it for years now. […]

Kitchen toys are my weakness. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a gadget, a small appliance or a re-invention of the wheel, if it can make life easier or more fun, it calls out to me. Take Saturday. I was in the gizmos aisle at the supermarket and spotted a set of six brightly-colored jumbo silicone muffin cups. Combine […]

It sometimes seems as if there’s nothing Wall Street likes better than bad news. Friday morning the Labor Dept. announced the jobless rate rose, as expected, to 4.5%, up from 4.4% the month before. The Dow responded with yet another record close, at 13,264.62. The day before, The Salt Lake Tribune put the market gains into perspective.

Sphere: […]

That is indeed a cake. What’s more, every bit of it is edible. It’s all cake and sugar art.
There are several types of cake decorators on this glorious earth. There are the patient ones who are willing to cover cakes with hundreds, if not thousands, of little piped stars to make someone’s day with a […]

If I had to choose only one cooking magazine, it would be Fine Cooking from The Taunton Press. The magazine and the website are exemplary.
Even though I was a Charter Subscriber to Cook’s Illustrated, after seven or eight years we began drifting apart, like people in a relationship turned tepid. I let my subscription lapse but […]