For Father’s Day I brined a turkey (see post below). That got me thinking about dry rubs and what would the difference be for a dry rub vs. a brined bird. So, I concocted my own dry rub using good smoked paprika, granulated garlic, granulated onion, thyme, sage, salt, pepper and just a hint of [...]
To say my hubby is a turkey fan would be the understatement of the year. You ever see the dad in the movie A Christmas Story? Yeah, that’s Joe. So for father’s day I wanted to make him a fabulous meal, turkey with all the fixings. Joe looks forward to Thanksgiving all year long and [...]
I’ve been making bagels lately and I’ve got to say, I don’t think I’ll ever buy them again. They’re so simple to make and just take a bit of planning ahead. The night before I want them, I set a sponge of flour, water and yeast. It sets out on the counter and I make [...]
To say I love corned beef would just be an under statement. It’s always been high on my favorite list. Way back in the day, when I worked for a law firm in downtown Cleveland, I used to walk to Otto Moser’s and dutifully stand in line, mouth watering, waiting for one of their fabulous [...]
In culinary school one of the first classes you take deals with cooking eggs. There is a real art to doing this and one that takes practice. We’ve all had those horrid rubbery scrambled eggs, the eggs that are over cooked, undercooked, yech, there’s nothing worse. But an egg cooked properly is a thing of [...]
Making stock from scratch, especially chicken stock, is really as simple as heating water. There’s really nothing too it. Using this stock to flavor your favorite sauces or make your own soup will elevate your cooking to an entirely different level. On those days when I just know I’ve got too many things on my [...]
That old ad campaign for Pillsbury still rings true for me. Today our daughter left to head back to campus after having spent the most time home she’s had in a year and a half, 5 glorious weeks. She worked and lived on campus all summer and only made it home for brief visits so [...]
The weather has cooled off, the humidity is gone and I couldn’t be happier. This is my kind of weather, ideal for spending time in my kitchen. Last night, however, we were just home from a fabulous wedding weekend up on the lake where we catered an all vegetarian meal for about 100 guests. Too tired to do much [...]
Mamaw’s Crispy Cottage Cheese Cookies I don’t remember ever really cooking in the kitchen with my mom growing up. She worked long and late hours in the restaurant business. She did cook, often and very well, I just don’t remember being interested enough to watch. My dad was a great cook too, often experimenting and [...]
Recently, I taught a class at Lorenzo’s Culinary School, in Lakeside Ohio, called “Everything Egg Roll”. We fit 20 people into a class that normally holds ten, but oh what a class it was, and these were no ordinary egg rolls. The one’s pictured above were filled with turkey, stuffing and cheese. We dipped them in [...]
