Year: 2007

food media

The Next Iron Chef Episode 1

I am in the process of watching the inaugural episode of The Next Iron Chef and I am not entirely sure what I think.  It is not that I am not enjoying the show, but I just do not have a good feeling for what the show is trying to accomplish. Part of me wonders, what […]

Kansas City Cuisine, recipes

Apple Pickles

Last weekend, we took a trip to a few of the apple orchards outside Kansas City.  A late freeze decimated the local apple crop, but I did purhcase a nice ten pound bag of Fujis outside of Waverly. After a week, I can say definitively, the problem with buying a ten pound bag of apples is that […]

food media

Top Chef Finale II — Review

Warning: In this post, I talk about who won the Top Chef finale.  Another season of Top Chef has come and gone.  This was my favorite season right up until the finale.  It occurred to me that Season 3 was a lot like Season 1.  Both were loaded with talented chefs who did not exactly […]

food and life

Musings on Chef Ripert’s Comment

During the Top Chef Season Three Finale (Part One) , Chef Eric Ripert made a comment I found jaw dropping.  Brian Malarky had prepared a braised elk dish that he served with a a number of garnishes including the choice of either gorgonzola or rochefort (forgive me if those are wrong, I am going off […]

food tools

Food Tools: Zatarain’s Gumbo Mix with Rice

(Note: the blog author is in no way related, affiliated, or otherwise linked to Zatarain’s.)The weather is starting to get colder (well sort of.  Here in the Midwest cold is off and on) and cool weather gets me in the mood for soups and stews including my personal favorite: gumbo.  However, to make gumbo requires […]

reviews

Spice Rub for Poultry

An article I wrote recently required that I find a creative use for Thanksgiving leftovers.  Since I do not tend to keep mashed potatoes, roasted turkey, or sweet potatoes in the ‘fridge, I decided to treat my family to an early Thanksgiving dinner.  As I have alluded to before, there appears to be something in my family’s genetic makeup that does not allow us […]

techniques

Howto: Cook Brown Rice

My interest in eating brown rice and sharing its preparation with you, dear eater, stems from the fact it is pretty darned healthy.  Sure, it is a source of carbs (brown rice has the same amount as white),  but for those that do not mind a few carbohydrates, brown rice is a far better choice than white.To […]

recipes

Recipe: Mexican Rice

I have been trying for a while now to perfect the secret of restaurant quality Mexican rice.  My first attempt to make Mexican rice was to add salsa to boiled white rice.  Please never try this.  Next, I tried adding a can of tomato sauce and sautéed garlic, onions, peppers, and chili flake to cooked […]