
On Thanksgiving and food…
I originally wrote this in 2005. My opinions remain unchanged. With the gastronomic orgy that is Thanksgiving upon us, my thoughts, as ever, turn to food. Good food, to be specific. My turkey will be organic, free-range, brined, and the meat under the skin basted with a mixture of bourbon, brown ...
COVID-19 Culinary Musings…
We have officially been "in residence" in the United States for over 5 months - a longer period than ever in the last 20 years. And with all the closings, we have dined out exactly twice in the last 4 months. As much as we enjoy cooking, what was once seen as a "nice change"…
Winter won’t leave WNY
So I'm not sure what or how to write this with it being group thing, but here it goes.. So its April and its freezing here in WNY, so here's a get soup recipe: Hot sausage ( if you can get it unlinked, I know that is a made up word, good cooking doesn't mean being…
Delicious Curry Noodle Salad
This Noodle Salad recipe is always a winner, especially with barbeques. Although it has a good dose of curry powder, you may also add a few drops of Tobasco sauce if you wish. The taste is so finely balanced that it is neither too sweet nor too tangy and also appeals to the taste of…
Cooking
I really, really, wanted to learn how to cook so I decided to learn by doing with the movies and menus cookbook. The honey cakes turned out OK I guess, but I really want to cook my way through a cookbook, and doing that while watching gladiator seems to be the way to go. I…
Saucy!
So, something I did while I was away from ODland was make my own pasta sauce. I tend to make pasta and sauce when I'm really short on cash, simply because it's cheap. I decided to try making my own pasta sauce because a) I have a slow cooker and should be able to make…
50 Shades of Rosé…
Last night we drank a bottle of 2017 Bermejo Listán Negro Rosado from Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. I can only describe this as a Rosé that drinks like a Red. Such wonderful complexity, nuance and balance - with a unique minerality from the volcanic soil. The environment there means that di...
It’s like being kissed by a lusty mermaid…
You can keep the necessities; it's the luxuries I cannot live without! Planning for our August Champagne & Caviar event, I was on the phone yesterday with the producer of the Osetra caviar. They offered me a wholesale account, which I accepted immediately. 1,000 grams (about 34 oz.) of Cla...
An afternoon of Global Flavors…
We had a lovely event on Sunday, the theme being Global Flavors. The chef learned her craft by working in kitchens and reading cookbooks - no formal culinary training whatsoever. She supports my theory that apprenticeships hold much more value than "formal" education in many fields. Learning b...
TOTW20: Three foods you would take to a desert island…
This is a tough one. How warm does it get on this hypothetical island? I'm a seasonal diner, so if the temperatures are really high I tend towards lighter fare. But perhaps I'm over-thinking this? #1. Cassoulet! Beans, sausage, pork, duck confit, onions, garlic, tomato, etc. All wonderful t...