From Scratch

I love Asian flavors. Love. A few months ago, somewhere in my travels by mouse click, I spotted an interesting recipe for roasted vegetables with sesame oil. I was sure I saved it but when the mood for such a thing struck, I couldn’t find it for the life of me.
Luckily, roasting veggies is not on a […]

It’s effortless, uses few ingredients and has a delicious twist: it creates its own sauce. No liquid is used. This recipe for brisket as pot roast is not your grandmother’s brisket. Not Bubbe’s at Passover nor Grammie’s on a cold day.
This is unlike any other recipe I’ve seen for braised brisket. Along with not needing liquid, […]

Actor Charlton Heston died last week. He was 84. Millions know him for epic roles such as Moses and Ben Hur, which earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor.
Like his fellow actor, Ronald Reagan, Heston’s politics shifted right. Even though he was an early advocate of civil rights, he is most remembered for his […]

It’s going from bad to worse, from dumb to so dumbed-down that culinary illiterates are likely to remain that way. It’s show biz, baby.
The Food Network announced a new slate of shows on Tuesday. The stated goal is to attract more young viewers and as many men as women. As long as they’re young, perhaps […]

I grew up on this moist, light, homey cake. It’s a little different from most crumb cakes because it’s not just batter with a crumb topping, it’s layered. And the delicious topping does not use any butter. It’s perfect when you want just a litte something and terrific for bake sales.
With a cake this easy, no big […]

Ming Tsai, the renowned chef-owner of Blue Ginger in Wellesley, Massachussetts, was the guest judge on Top Chef 4 last night. As is Bravo’s custom, it offered him a blog spot and instead of writing a post, it’s a Q & A in bloggy form and is well worth reading. His views about food and […]

Photo removed because an ill-bred, cheap boor chose to hotlink and use my bandwidth. Internet no-no #1. Cheap isn’t even an issue! This pig is with blogspot, which is free, and so is his bandwidth and storage space.
You couldn’t pay me to eat a hot dog but if I ate them, there’s no way I’d pay […]

I love quiche and it has bothered me no end to see it tarnished, trashed and turned into a receptacle for using up all the leftovers in the fridge. It went from being the fashionable belle of the ball to the tired old town tart who still wears Uggs.
Quiche Lorraine is a classic, dating back […]

There’s a new badge on the sidebar. I was delighted to learn From Scratch was named Best Blog of the Day for Friday, April 4. I’m thrilled my blogazine mix of recipes and a lot of chatter about food, plus a little about politics, was deemed worthy of recognition.
Notification came in blog comments, in this case […]

With gas prices hitting records, seeing the needle on the gas gauge drop from F to E is one more stressful aspect of life in 2008. Tab of The Calgary Sun envisions a new gauge.

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Snickerdoodles are a beloved American cookie. Unless, of course, they’re really English or German or Dutch in origin. Are they from New England or Pennsylvania Dutch country? The answers depend upon which source you consult.
What’s not in dispute is how delicious they are or how easy to make. They are, at heart, a buttery sugar […]

I’ve learned two good tricks in the past week I’d like to pass along. One is for cooking the pasta, the other for cooking the sauce.
First, the pasta. If you have trouble achieving a perfect al dente, give this a try. The trick is from Darina Allen, the noted Irish chef and cookbook author. Bring […]

So?
Vice President Dick Cheney’s response on March 19, when told by ABC News’ Martha Raddatz that a majority of Americans, about two-thirds, say the Iraq war isn’t worth it.
The ever-sensitive Cheney went on to say, “You can’t be blown off course by polls.”

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I’ve made this recipe for more than a decade. It’s another one that’s super-easy with a handful of ingredients that deliver a lot of flavor. Better still, it’s high in protein, low in calories, fat and carbs and is easy on the budget. 
It’s from Mitzi Perdue’s chicken cookbook. She’s an expert on poultry and ways to […]