My Pie, That’s Why

Doesn’t everybody love baby spinach, pineapple and mushrooms on their pizza?  Seriously?  Why not?  Weirdos. The beauty of Cast Iron Pan Pizzas, though, as dreamt in the January & February 2020 Cook’s Illustrated, is that each pizza is customizable for each person at the table.  In the great deep-dish/thin-crust debate, these pan pizzas definitely side…

Capital!

What you see above is a bar of gold.  Or so was the impression a French pâtissier (pastry chef) named Lasne wished to convey when, in the late 1800s, he had baking trays specially made to resemble the shape and size of a bullion ingot.  After all, Lasne’s shop wasn’t far from the Paris Stock…

Handmade, No Machine

Imagine, first time making pasta, no machine in sight, nor an Italian grandmother.  Guess what happens next.  Watch as hilarity unfolds?  Maybe, but not from the countertop, thanks to a nice recipe for Ravioli featured in Cook’s Illustrated‘s May/June 2019 issue. Specifically, today’s entry is Chicken-Spinach Ravioli, as the magazine’s ricotta-based filling didn’t inspire culinary…

Oh, That’s Right

It’s late autumn.  Good fruit is but a memory now, a glistening image retreating over the horizon as winter looms and soon persists, no end in sight.  Now, though, just as we brace ourselves for the frigid onslaught, a forgotten ally returns triumphantly, restoring brightness and radiance. Citrus delivers this relief, pure sunshine straight from…

Aquaculture

Tilapia enjoys a happy coincidence, its sustainability accelerating smartly with its increased popularity.  As ever more people appreciate the fish’s flavor and culinary versatility, the industry has discovered the freshwater creature adapts particularly well to farm production, ensuring the supply will match demand. Today features two, or perhaps three, recipes from the January/February 2019 Cook’s…

Jeweled Ingredients

Those familiar with Thai cuisine know cooking is all about building layer upon layer of taste.  This ensures each ingredient is distinct, identifiable and doesn’t get lost.  Still, they make up a chorus of flavors all equally assertive, yet complimenting each other beautifully.  That combination is no more exquisitely balanced than in today’s creation, Guay…

Roll with It

True, the bamboo mat that’s part of a sushi kit is perfectly applied to its task, though so too is wrapping thinly-pounded steak around fresh vegetables in preparation for the grill.  This forms an egg roll of sorts, though with flamed steak filling in quite nicely for the outer shell.  Here’s a roll set on…

Brownies for a Princess

By legend, when an Austrian princess was staying at the Italian resort isle of Capri back in the 1800s, she started longing for the dense chocolate cake of her native Vienna, Sachertorte.  Not knowing how to make the Viennese delicacy, the resort’s Italian chefs prepared a more familiar local almond cake, added cocoa and hoped…

Eternal Sunshine

Even now, in early February, when brightness is deeply hidden in winter’s snowy depths, kitchens keep the sun shining.  One taste of today’s effort, Lemon Bars, is enough to reignite memories of a time when light sparkled and warmed all.  Better yet, it anticipates a return to solar benevolence in a couple months. This is…

Solve This Riddle

A puzzle for you – a stockpot of water simmers away on a stovetop.  Inside are two metal cans, topped with aluminum foil and rattling slightly.  What’s inside? Here’s a visual for you:If you guessed the cans hold bread, your advantage, or you’re from Boston, where people have been boiling bread in cans for centuries,…