cdkitchen > feeddaily blog
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Some of my fondest memories of time spent with my father during my childhood include the hours we spent outside planting and tending our substantial vegetable garden. There is nothing quite so satisfying as the taste of food you have grown yourself. My dad is a native of New Jersey, otherwise known as the Garden State. He grew up on a farm where, legend has it, my grandmother grew the best veggies around. It is no wonder the man knows how to grow tomatoes! And hopefully he has passed that green thumb down to me. Therefore, I wanted...
by
I have a fantastic occasional-roommate/neighbor at the moment. He is the sort of person that one probably would never expect to become friends with, is difficult to describe, and is impossible to forget. Aside from being a Bohemian surfing photographer, he is a dread-locked, bearded Italian who makes cappuccinos and pasta that would give any LA Italian restaurant a run for its money. John-Franco, or Frankie, as everyone calls him, really likes his pasta--in a way that only a full-blooded Italian really could. He eats noodles on pretty much a daily basis. To him, "al...
by
Much to my embarrassment, last week I had a night where I swear it were as though I forgot how to cook. I've been cooking all my life--plus there's the hospitality school and culinary school degrees--and that night I couldn't have done more wrong. In a pan that was too hot, a fish that was too wet met a pool of too much oil. I was not paying attention while trying to do too much, and my skin--that was too bare--paid the price for my errors with five second-degree burns from flying hot oil. As I nurse the wounds of my flesh as well as my more seriously wounded ego, I might as well put...
by
When I was a kid there were no video stores, pay-per-view, or movies on demand. If you wanted to see a particular movie, you just waited, sometimes for a year, and then sat in front of the black and white television enjoying the treasured experience. Each year, I would wait patiently for the annual showing of The Wizard of Oz. I loved that movie, but not for the reason you might think (although those red shoes were every girl's dream accessory). I loved that night because it was the only night of the year my mom would make popcorn. We would go to the grocery store together...
by
I can't tell you how many times I've craved rice pudding and searched for a recipe that would give me a straight up, home-style version - one that would not be too thick, too watery, too spicy, too eggy, or just plain odd. Of course, in all this experimenting, I ended up having to stand and stir too many batches over the double boiler, one of my least favorite kitchen tools (necessary sometimes, but DB and I just don't get along very well). Why did it seem to take FOREVER for the rice to get tender, and even if I was careful stirring, I ended up with a messy, cooked-on pan...
by
Like millions of Americans, I spent many a childhood summer holed up in a pup tent in the great outdoors along with my family, temporarily escaping reality for a chance to commune with nature. There were enough comforts for a family with children: the occasional hot water shower, hot chocolate and toasted marshmallows before bed, and many lazy days of drifting down rivers or playing in the crashing ocean waves. Food while camping was always hot and fresh, if simple. There would on occasion be pancakes for breakfast whipped up from storage containers of flour and baking...
by
My family and I are fresh off a day trip to a local amusement park and I'm still feeling like a big kid. Our action-packed day included braving some long lines, repeating some of the really fun rides a couple times, and splashing in the waterpark. Between all that, we really worked up an appetite. This particular park, one that is geared towards young children, is located in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, so many a pretzel and funnel cake could be found in the food kiosks. Our day started off with a grownup treat of jumbo presweetened iced coffees (for the...
by
Avocados make wonderful desserts. "Has she lost her mind," you ask? "Avocados are for guacamole! They're not sweet! They're not even fruit!"Wrong! Interestingly, avocados are a fruit. In fact, they are a single-seeded berry. Once considered an aphrodisiac by the Aztecs, the avocado has a long history in Western food culture. It was first written about in 1672 as "one of the most rare and pleasant fruits of the island. It nourisheth and strengtheneth the body, corroborating the spirits and procuring lust exceedingly." Whoah there, tiger! There are over 1000 varieties...
by
A happy accident occurred a few years ago when I was getting ready to cater a team building party for some computer company executives. The plan was for the group from this company to attend a hockey game and then come back to the Manhattan apartment that the company had set up as a technological show house (it displayed all the ways a house could be wired, including connecting the refrigerator to the Internet!). Therefore a hearty meal was in order. I had provided the order to the meat purveyor, which would be delivered to me so I could prep for the party. But instead...
by
This summer, I have had quite a lot of free time on my hands. It's been great to be able to get a lot of writing work done, and catch up on stuff like balancing my checkbook, cleaning my house, and grocery shopping (you know, all the "fun" stuff of life). However, lots of free time also means that I have the ability to spend way too much time on Google. Searching for random stuff. Like sauerbraten. I honestly don't even remember how I found the recipe, but somehow, it entered into my life and I became determined to cook it, eat it, and learn all about it.
by
It is quite possible that I spent more money on gas this morning driving to my local coffee shop to get my usual cup of Joe than I spent on the latte itself. With the price of gas sucking every last dollar from my wallet it is unlikely I'll have enough money left over to spend on a summer vacation. But no one wants a boring summer, so why not travel within your own space for a change? You might not be able to afford a Hawaiian vacation or even a day trip to the big city, but maybe you can bring a little bit of those vacation dreams into your home with some festive...
by
It all started with the marble-shaped onion sets that we discovered on the greenhouse shelf. "Let's grow onions in our garden this year," I suggested, selecting a box of small white and red bulbs. Looking back on it today, I don't think the kids thought much of it either way. However, we all discovered onions purchased in the grocery store are quite different than the crisp green-topped plants that now form the perimeter inside our garden fence. In fact, I don't think it really sunk in how onions actually grow - until the greens were almost a foot high...
by
Summertime for kids is all about simple pleasures like taking a refreshing afternoon dip in the pool, catching lightning bugs, or toasting marshmallows over glowing coals. But the essence of relaxed summertime enjoyment is in a delicious dish or cone of ice cream. While my two year old boy often ends up wearing almost as much ice cream as he eats, an ice cream treat for dessert has become a summertime ritual that he looks forward to all day long. Many of us can recall with great nostalgia the familiar jingle of the local ice cream truck. Another cherished memory is...
by
Simply put, I am obsessed with ice cream right now. Happens every year about this time. The heat turns up, lacking a pool to throw myself in, the next best thing is to bring down the temperature from the inside out with a delicious frozen treat.
by
It's hot out there. Checking in with friends and colleagues around the country this week, the weather forecast seemed like I was having déjà vu no matter where I was calling. Helena, Montana: 90° and dry. West Palm Beach, Florida: 93° and humid. St. Louis, Missouri: 92° and thunderstorms. Judging by what seems to be a universally sun burnt, heat zapped spirit, it seemed as though dinner plans for the weekend were something along the lines of if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen and into an air-conditioned restaurant. As much as I love a...
by
Y'all might have noticed I've been stressing "host" style tips and meals in Bachelor Chow. I do this because if you are a single man living alone, you probably need some company, and the best way to entice company is to offer them tasty things to put in their mouths. Sure, you can entice with your dazzling repartee, but food and drink is hands-down your safest bet. As someone who lives alone, I can attest that it's good for you to cultivate the craft of hosting so that your guests are encouraged to visit again and again, and heck, they might even return the favor. But...
From The Editors At CDKitchen: Feed Daily
by
Some of my fondest memories of time spent with my father during my childhood include the hours we spent outside planting and tending our substantial vegetable garden. There is nothing quite so satisfying as the taste of food you have grown yourself. My dad is a native of New Jersey, otherwise known as the Garden State. He grew up on a farm where, legend has it, my grandmother grew the best veggies around. It is no wonder the man knows how to grow tomatoes! And hopefully he has passed that green thumb down to me. Therefore, I wanted...
by
I have a fantastic occasional-roommate/neighbor at the moment. He is the sort of person that one probably would never expect to become friends with, is difficult to describe, and is impossible to forget. Aside from being a Bohemian surfing photographer, he is a dread-locked, bearded Italian who makes cappuccinos and pasta that would give any LA Italian restaurant a run for its money. John-Franco, or Frankie, as everyone calls him, really likes his pasta--in a way that only a full-blooded Italian really could. He eats noodles on pretty much a daily basis. To him, "al...
by
Much to my embarrassment, last week I had a night where I swear it were as though I forgot how to cook. I've been cooking all my life--plus there's the hospitality school and culinary school degrees--and that night I couldn't have done more wrong. In a pan that was too hot, a fish that was too wet met a pool of too much oil. I was not paying attention while trying to do too much, and my skin--that was too bare--paid the price for my errors with five second-degree burns from flying hot oil. As I nurse the wounds of my flesh as well as my more seriously wounded ego, I might as well put...
by
When I was a kid there were no video stores, pay-per-view, or movies on demand. If you wanted to see a particular movie, you just waited, sometimes for a year, and then sat in front of the black and white television enjoying the treasured experience. Each year, I would wait patiently for the annual showing of The Wizard of Oz. I loved that movie, but not for the reason you might think (although those red shoes were every girl's dream accessory). I loved that night because it was the only night of the year my mom would make popcorn. We would go to the grocery store together...
by
I can't tell you how many times I've craved rice pudding and searched for a recipe that would give me a straight up, home-style version - one that would not be too thick, too watery, too spicy, too eggy, or just plain odd. Of course, in all this experimenting, I ended up having to stand and stir too many batches over the double boiler, one of my least favorite kitchen tools (necessary sometimes, but DB and I just don't get along very well). Why did it seem to take FOREVER for the rice to get tender, and even if I was careful stirring, I ended up with a messy, cooked-on pan...
by
Like millions of Americans, I spent many a childhood summer holed up in a pup tent in the great outdoors along with my family, temporarily escaping reality for a chance to commune with nature. There were enough comforts for a family with children: the occasional hot water shower, hot chocolate and toasted marshmallows before bed, and many lazy days of drifting down rivers or playing in the crashing ocean waves. Food while camping was always hot and fresh, if simple. There would on occasion be pancakes for breakfast whipped up from storage containers of flour and baking...
by
My family and I are fresh off a day trip to a local amusement park and I'm still feeling like a big kid. Our action-packed day included braving some long lines, repeating some of the really fun rides a couple times, and splashing in the waterpark. Between all that, we really worked up an appetite. This particular park, one that is geared towards young children, is located in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, so many a pretzel and funnel cake could be found in the food kiosks. Our day started off with a grownup treat of jumbo presweetened iced coffees (for the...
by
Avocados make wonderful desserts. "Has she lost her mind," you ask? "Avocados are for guacamole! They're not sweet! They're not even fruit!"Wrong! Interestingly, avocados are a fruit. In fact, they are a single-seeded berry. Once considered an aphrodisiac by the Aztecs, the avocado has a long history in Western food culture. It was first written about in 1672 as "one of the most rare and pleasant fruits of the island. It nourisheth and strengtheneth the body, corroborating the spirits and procuring lust exceedingly." Whoah there, tiger! There are over 1000 varieties...
by
A happy accident occurred a few years ago when I was getting ready to cater a team building party for some computer company executives. The plan was for the group from this company to attend a hockey game and then come back to the Manhattan apartment that the company had set up as a technological show house (it displayed all the ways a house could be wired, including connecting the refrigerator to the Internet!). Therefore a hearty meal was in order. I had provided the order to the meat purveyor, which would be delivered to me so I could prep for the party. But instead...
by
This summer, I have had quite a lot of free time on my hands. It's been great to be able to get a lot of writing work done, and catch up on stuff like balancing my checkbook, cleaning my house, and grocery shopping (you know, all the "fun" stuff of life). However, lots of free time also means that I have the ability to spend way too much time on Google. Searching for random stuff. Like sauerbraten. I honestly don't even remember how I found the recipe, but somehow, it entered into my life and I became determined to cook it, eat it, and learn all about it.
by
It is quite possible that I spent more money on gas this morning driving to my local coffee shop to get my usual cup of Joe than I spent on the latte itself. With the price of gas sucking every last dollar from my wallet it is unlikely I'll have enough money left over to spend on a summer vacation. But no one wants a boring summer, so why not travel within your own space for a change? You might not be able to afford a Hawaiian vacation or even a day trip to the big city, but maybe you can bring a little bit of those vacation dreams into your home with some festive...
by
It all started with the marble-shaped onion sets that we discovered on the greenhouse shelf. "Let's grow onions in our garden this year," I suggested, selecting a box of small white and red bulbs. Looking back on it today, I don't think the kids thought much of it either way. However, we all discovered onions purchased in the grocery store are quite different than the crisp green-topped plants that now form the perimeter inside our garden fence. In fact, I don't think it really sunk in how onions actually grow - until the greens were almost a foot high...
by
Summertime for kids is all about simple pleasures like taking a refreshing afternoon dip in the pool, catching lightning bugs, or toasting marshmallows over glowing coals. But the essence of relaxed summertime enjoyment is in a delicious dish or cone of ice cream. While my two year old boy often ends up wearing almost as much ice cream as he eats, an ice cream treat for dessert has become a summertime ritual that he looks forward to all day long. Many of us can recall with great nostalgia the familiar jingle of the local ice cream truck. Another cherished memory is...
by
Simply put, I am obsessed with ice cream right now. Happens every year about this time. The heat turns up, lacking a pool to throw myself in, the next best thing is to bring down the temperature from the inside out with a delicious frozen treat.
by
It's hot out there. Checking in with friends and colleagues around the country this week, the weather forecast seemed like I was having déjà vu no matter where I was calling. Helena, Montana: 90° and dry. West Palm Beach, Florida: 93° and humid. St. Louis, Missouri: 92° and thunderstorms. Judging by what seems to be a universally sun burnt, heat zapped spirit, it seemed as though dinner plans for the weekend were something along the lines of if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen and into an air-conditioned restaurant. As much as I love a...
by
Y'all might have noticed I've been stressing "host" style tips and meals in Bachelor Chow. I do this because if you are a single man living alone, you probably need some company, and the best way to entice company is to offer them tasty things to put in their mouths. Sure, you can entice with your dazzling repartee, but food and drink is hands-down your safest bet. As someone who lives alone, I can attest that it's good for you to cultivate the craft of hosting so that your guests are encouraged to visit again and again, and heck, they might even return the favor. But...