This is one of my favorite recipes, because the sauce is super simple and super versatile, it’s nearly impossible to ruin, but it relies so much on your judgement. The more you hone your palate and your cooking instincts, the better this dish becomes. Cook time: 45 minutes Preparation steps: Cut an onion in half … Read more
MSG has a bad reputation, but undeservedly so. Most of the Western animus towards MSG started in the late 60s with a single person summing up a series of symptoms into what he called “Chinese restaurant syndrome” and blaming it on the MSG that was being added to the food. There was actually no basis … Read more
If you’re looking for a way to enhance the flavor of your food, you won’t go wrong by adding a bit of mushroom powder. Mushrooms are an excellent natural source of glutamates, the compound responsible for the umami flavor. If you are hesitant to use MSG in your food (and you shouldn’t be…), you can … Read more
Culinarily, potatoes tend to be classified as either waxy or starchy (sometimes called mealy), based on their moisture and starch content. Each type is good for some things and bad for others. Knowing the difference between them can help you choose the potato that will be most successful for a given application. Waxy Of the … Read more
This recipe is not meant to be a prescriptive list of ingredients, but more loosely about the technique itself. Use bone-in, dark meat for this recipe and it should result in tender chicken that readily falls off the bone. Not recommended for boneless chicken or chicken breast. The vegetables make it a great one-pot meal … Read more
Three things to keep in mind about storing potatoes: Potatoes are roots that are engineered to grow plants. They are valuable to us as sources of nutrients because they are engineered to be sources of nutrients for the plant they are destined to sprout. The plant part of potatoes aren’t edible (for humans), so you … Read more
The most important thing about frying foods is temperature control. When oil is the proper temperature, it will flash evaporate moisture on the surface of the food, which creates a barrier that prevents the oil from penetrating the food and making it greasy. If the oil is too cold, this barrier won’t exist and the … Read more
Couple of notes about dried beans: Most directions will tell you to soak the beans overnight, or provide a “quick soak” method. This isn’t really necessary, if you have time to start cooking the beans early. If you can put the beans on the stove a few hours before serving time, you can skip soaking. … Read more
Carrot greens are edible and make a good herb. If you’ve bought carrots with the greens still attached, you’ll want to remove them when you get home. Just get some scissors and cut the stems off about 1/2″ (1.5cm) from the top of carrot. Carrots are roots, which are technically designed to provide water and … Read more