The Everyday Epicure

07/13/2016

New toy to play with for tonight's dinner. What do I have here?

02/25/2016

Moving on from playing with pastry to playing with sourdough. This starter came home with me from a workshop at King Arthur Flour in Norwich, VT, in September; it's been experimented and baked with regularly since. These are basic white loaves with a smidgeon of rye flour - same dough - just the one in the front was baked at a lower temperature and browned less. Sourdough is amazing stuff, versatile and quite different to work with than yeast-raised doughs. Bread with character :-)

11/10/2015

Here's a close-up of an apple pie made from the directions they were using. Apples with a little sugar, cinnamon, and a smidgen of freshly-grated nutmeg - so simple, yet so good.

11/10/2015

Success! Five happy pie bakers with their apple pies, all ready to take home and bake right away or freeze for later. Their faces say it all. (Last night's class at Souhegan High School.)

09/09/2015

For those of you who've been asking (and also those who haven't), I'm offering four stand-alone classes/workshops at Souhegan High School this fall. We kick off in September with a Knife Skills class, making minestrone, ratatouille, and chopped salad with all the veggies; October is Pasta without a machine; November is PIE-making month; and early December will be a Couples/Date Night featuring a Tuscan dinner menu. Get the dates and sign-up info here: http://www.sau39.org/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&DomainID=283&ModuleInstanceID=1877&ViewID=047E6BE3-6D87-4130-8424-D8E4E9ED6C2A&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=4202&PageID=767

Good cooking begins with the basics, and knife skills are essential. Make your time in the kitchen easier and faster. Learn the three must-have knives, how to use them, and how to maintain them. We’ll cover the basic cuts – chop, dice, mince, slice, and julienne – and make minestrone, ratatouille,…

07/12/2014

How cool is this? I want one to test drive!
http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-saucepan-rocket-scientist-heat-efficient-20140710-story.html

Cooking isn’t rocket science, but maybe designing cookware is. A professor of engineering at Oxford University has designed a new saucepan that he says heats up faster and uses 40% less energy than conventional saucepans.

07/12/2014

Found this lid among the others at a client's today. Even knowing they're into fermented and whole foods, this has me bewildered.

05/29/2014

First - and so welcome - harvest of the season, rhubarb from the backyard. Are you only familiar with the stuff that's been cooked to the point of disintegrating when you try to spoon it up? Not when it's cooked this way. This is simple and perfect, just rhubarb and sugar, nothing else. Love it!

05/19/2014

A personal chef can help anyone who's finding it difficult to follow a special diet. A case in point:

https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/l/t1.0-9/1531871_536598013116796_7238559825061392095_n.jpg

03/25/2014

FB asks me what I've been up to. A lot, it seems, because it's been a long time since I've posted anything!

Along with everything else, I have another cooking class at Souhegan High School starting next Monday, 3/31. For anyone who'd like to get a better handle on cooking meats and poultry, check it out. Lots of material and techniques will be covered, as well as all your questions answered!

http://sau39.org/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&DomainID=283&ModuleInstanceID=1867&ViewID=047E6BE3-6D87-4130-8424-D8E4E9ED6C2A&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=2426&PageID=767

What the best kind of roast to buy? My steak was tough; what did I do wrong? How much meat do I need to serve X number of people? How do I know when it's done? If questions like this arise in your kitchen, some basic instruction on meat cookery will come in handy. This class will cover beef and po...

10/11/2013

Have you ever heard of a variety of apple called the 20 ounce? It's not commonly found, but is aptly named. It's one BIG apple (not to be confused with the one in NY.)

This week I found a display apple at a farm stand that was so realistic, I had to take a closer look. When I picked it up, damn if it wasn't real! This baby is a Northern Spy grown at Carlson Orchard in Harvard, MA, and you can see for yourself what it weighs. Unbelievable! There's half a pie right there, folks, but I'm going to be hard pressed to cut into it, it's that unusual.

10/06/2013

A whole lotta beef-vegetable soup, Thai green curry chicken with jasmine rice, and pork chops Veracruz with baked sweet potatoes in the background.