cdkitchen > feeddaily blog
by
Verjus, sometimes called verjuice, has been around since medieval times. The word means "green juice." It is the unfermented juice of semi-ripe grapes. Some say verjus got its start when vineyard owners gave peasant workers the rights to harvest the second growth of the grapes which were generally harvested before maturity. Others say that the vineyard owners gave the workers semi-ripe grapes which were thinned from the vines to allow the remaining grapes to grow larger. The peasants used the grapes to make a fresh, tart liquid which was used for cooking and sometimes as a drink. But...
by
A friend of mine recently told me about a dessert she had that she just couldn't get out of her mind. It was a molten chocolate lava cake. Okay, standard fare, I thought. One would be hard pressed to find a chocolate lover who didn't love those little steamy puddings. Not exactly my thing. When she saw my skepticism, she then clarified: the molten part wasn't typical bittersweet chocolate; it was gooey warm peanut butter. I swooned. This sounded really good. Why hadn't I thought of that?! Turns out, the dish was served with a strawberry jam sauce and chocolate ice cream...
by
"Got eevooo?" My brother asked. What?, I responded. "Got eevooo? You know, E.V.O.O.?" Ummm... right. He was teasing me, of course, knowing how I feel about the subject of oil, particularly the olive variety. But his teasing could not have been worse than the horror of its inspiration. Apparently, Paul, having recently attended a wine and food festival in Washington DC, was witness to an act of foodie perversion. At a large booth representing a certain new cooking magazine were a gaggle of smiling, giddy booth workers wearing T-shirts asking one simple yet profound question:...
by
If there's a classic image of the bachelor seared into the collective American imagination, it's of some dude hunched over in a dirty, old armchair dressed in boxers and a t-shirt. He has a bad case of bed-head and he's eating - you guessed it - a can of beans (as I write this I'm having a flashback of The Who's trippy coda to "Armenia City in the Sky"---a little ditty titled "Heinz Baked Beans" that pits the working class bachelor against stuffy, upper-class tea-sippers). You can battle anyone having this image of you when musing on your singleness by, first, not...
by
Have you had enough of malted milk eggs and chocolate bunnies yet? Perchance you've tossed out a handful of jellybeans just to get them cleaned up (Don't worry, I won't tell)? Any chance a few of those marshmallow peeps have ended up in the trash - you know, dried out and hard - or forgotten, amongst the piles of poly-green and purple grass destined for basement boxes? If, during this week after the Easter-candy fervor, a few marshmallow peeps turn up that no one wants to eat, this column's for you. I apologize if you and yours enjoy eating those soft, sugary peeps, but...
by
My husband would tell you that he firmly believes you must have been force-fed gefilte fish as a child to enjoy it as an adult. I might agree if the only gefilte fish on earth were that from a jar. But there is nothing like homemade gefilte fish, and it is genuinely an annual Passover treat. One of the most important parts of the traditional festival feast is the gefilte fish. Although many families rightly enjoy store-bought gefilte fish, I find that the homemade preparation of this dish is when my personal Passover observance truly begins. "Gefilte" means "stuffed"...
by
Passover, the most theologically important holiday in the Jewish calendar, celebrates the renewal of spirit each spring. This holiday recollects and shares the most significant story in Jewish history - the escape of the Jewish slaves from Egypt over three thousand years ago. A few years ago, a friend of mine invited me to her family's annual Seder, and this piqued my interest about the holiday. The traditional Passover Seder dinner is full of symbolism and includes a ceremonial plate that incorporates six essential elements to tell the story of the escape. Some...
by
There are at least four or five dear friends of mine who would stake claim to cioppino as his or her favorite food. And it is not just my friends, for I have more than once overheard a woman talk about her boyfriend with statements such as, "Cioppino is most definitely Ben's favorite food. Every time it is on a restaurant menu he has to order it." Few dishes that I can think of have the power to evoke such strong statements from so many.
by
In many parts of the country, it looks like spring has officially sprung a few weeks early. Summer-like temperatures have brought many of us outside to enjoy the beautiful weather. And where is the best place to eat a good meal in the warm weather? Alfresco, of course! And what could be better on a perfect spring day than a good old fashioned picnic? The most ideal picnic foods are ones that can be eaten by hand. Finger foods such as sandwiches, cut up fruit, cheese and crackers, and deviled eggs all fit the bill. But my personal favorite is the standby cold fried...
by
"My Mama told me, 'You better shop around!'" Well, maybe she didn't, but I have definitely adopted that philosophy as my own. Geographic location has certainly affected that decision. Here is this week's dilemma: How often do you choose a menu for a catered affair--for you or for someone else--and find that you inevitably end up running to the second, third, and sometimes even fourth favorite store kept in your speed dial (and preferably within ten blocks of your place of business)? Okay, let me set the scene. I decided to throw a dinner party for ten of my...
by
There is something about that four o'clock hour. Hunger starts to kick in and a little pick-me-up seems to be in order. The English were on to something when they formalized the ritual of high tea. This civilized snack need not be limited to triangular finger sandwiches, clotted cream and hot Earl Grey tea, especially during these warm summer months. Consider a lighter and younger iced tea party for your next event. Tea and Sympathy...for Other Beverages: If you are going to make an iced high tea, do not feel limited to the realm of tea alone by leaving out...
by
What I love most about cookbooks are the possibilities contained within. The endlessly delicious possibilities. Just the potluck of choices and mouth-watering ideas pulled together in one place is certainly food for thought, no pun intended. Whereas one day you might be looking for a little lunch inspiration and another time something simple for supper, other times it's specific: a pancake recipe, a pasta salad or directions for baking a pot roast. Of course, with the advent of the Internet, the very tool at your fingertips right now (plus CDKitchen of course!)...
by
Bachelors worthy of autonomy have got to do something about their breakfasts. What is up with the dried cereal flakes with water y'all? That's just nasty. Cold pizza? Barf. Oatmeal? Ok, that's more respectable, but still: where's the freshliciousness? If you cannot do better than oatmeal, you deserve to move back in with mother. To avert that fate, I have a dandy suggestion that will not only impress your friends, but tastes good too: omelets with fresh veggies! Now, at first blush the suggestion that you should make omelets on a regular basis sounds time consuming...
by
Almost ten years ago, my mom's crockpot was a much-used item in our kitchen. With four kids, a small farm, and my dad's business, she had very little time to cook. I remember her throwing a whole chicken, vegetables, and potatoes into a crockpot, turning it on at 9:00 in the morning, and not touching it until 6:00 or 7:00 that night. We never thought twice about the fact that the chicken was uncooked for the majority of the time it was sitting in the crockpot. We never had a problem, but there are health concerns about meat sitting at an uncooked, unsafe temperature...
by
What is boxty, you want to know? Good question. For if you were paying attention to the poem, you should not only know what boxty is, you should definitely know how to cook it. For "if you can't make boxty, you'll never get a man." (So maybe that's my problem!) Okay, I didn't know what boxty was either until a couple of weeks ago. But I figured with a poem like that, I better find out what it was...
From The Editors At CDKitchen: Feed Daily
by
Verjus, sometimes called verjuice, has been around since medieval times. The word means "green juice." It is the unfermented juice of semi-ripe grapes. Some say verjus got its start when vineyard owners gave peasant workers the rights to harvest the second growth of the grapes which were generally harvested before maturity. Others say that the vineyard owners gave the workers semi-ripe grapes which were thinned from the vines to allow the remaining grapes to grow larger. The peasants used the grapes to make a fresh, tart liquid which was used for cooking and sometimes as a drink. But...
by
A friend of mine recently told me about a dessert she had that she just couldn't get out of her mind. It was a molten chocolate lava cake. Okay, standard fare, I thought. One would be hard pressed to find a chocolate lover who didn't love those little steamy puddings. Not exactly my thing. When she saw my skepticism, she then clarified: the molten part wasn't typical bittersweet chocolate; it was gooey warm peanut butter. I swooned. This sounded really good. Why hadn't I thought of that?! Turns out, the dish was served with a strawberry jam sauce and chocolate ice cream...
by
"Got eevooo?" My brother asked. What?, I responded. "Got eevooo? You know, E.V.O.O.?" Ummm... right. He was teasing me, of course, knowing how I feel about the subject of oil, particularly the olive variety. But his teasing could not have been worse than the horror of its inspiration. Apparently, Paul, having recently attended a wine and food festival in Washington DC, was witness to an act of foodie perversion. At a large booth representing a certain new cooking magazine were a gaggle of smiling, giddy booth workers wearing T-shirts asking one simple yet profound question:...
by
If there's a classic image of the bachelor seared into the collective American imagination, it's of some dude hunched over in a dirty, old armchair dressed in boxers and a t-shirt. He has a bad case of bed-head and he's eating - you guessed it - a can of beans (as I write this I'm having a flashback of The Who's trippy coda to "Armenia City in the Sky"---a little ditty titled "Heinz Baked Beans" that pits the working class bachelor against stuffy, upper-class tea-sippers). You can battle anyone having this image of you when musing on your singleness by, first, not...
by
Have you had enough of malted milk eggs and chocolate bunnies yet? Perchance you've tossed out a handful of jellybeans just to get them cleaned up (Don't worry, I won't tell)? Any chance a few of those marshmallow peeps have ended up in the trash - you know, dried out and hard - or forgotten, amongst the piles of poly-green and purple grass destined for basement boxes? If, during this week after the Easter-candy fervor, a few marshmallow peeps turn up that no one wants to eat, this column's for you. I apologize if you and yours enjoy eating those soft, sugary peeps, but...
by
My husband would tell you that he firmly believes you must have been force-fed gefilte fish as a child to enjoy it as an adult. I might agree if the only gefilte fish on earth were that from a jar. But there is nothing like homemade gefilte fish, and it is genuinely an annual Passover treat. One of the most important parts of the traditional festival feast is the gefilte fish. Although many families rightly enjoy store-bought gefilte fish, I find that the homemade preparation of this dish is when my personal Passover observance truly begins. "Gefilte" means "stuffed"...
by
Passover, the most theologically important holiday in the Jewish calendar, celebrates the renewal of spirit each spring. This holiday recollects and shares the most significant story in Jewish history - the escape of the Jewish slaves from Egypt over three thousand years ago. A few years ago, a friend of mine invited me to her family's annual Seder, and this piqued my interest about the holiday. The traditional Passover Seder dinner is full of symbolism and includes a ceremonial plate that incorporates six essential elements to tell the story of the escape. Some...
by
There are at least four or five dear friends of mine who would stake claim to cioppino as his or her favorite food. And it is not just my friends, for I have more than once overheard a woman talk about her boyfriend with statements such as, "Cioppino is most definitely Ben's favorite food. Every time it is on a restaurant menu he has to order it." Few dishes that I can think of have the power to evoke such strong statements from so many.
by
In many parts of the country, it looks like spring has officially sprung a few weeks early. Summer-like temperatures have brought many of us outside to enjoy the beautiful weather. And where is the best place to eat a good meal in the warm weather? Alfresco, of course! And what could be better on a perfect spring day than a good old fashioned picnic? The most ideal picnic foods are ones that can be eaten by hand. Finger foods such as sandwiches, cut up fruit, cheese and crackers, and deviled eggs all fit the bill. But my personal favorite is the standby cold fried...
by
"My Mama told me, 'You better shop around!'" Well, maybe she didn't, but I have definitely adopted that philosophy as my own. Geographic location has certainly affected that decision. Here is this week's dilemma: How often do you choose a menu for a catered affair--for you or for someone else--and find that you inevitably end up running to the second, third, and sometimes even fourth favorite store kept in your speed dial (and preferably within ten blocks of your place of business)? Okay, let me set the scene. I decided to throw a dinner party for ten of my...
by
There is something about that four o'clock hour. Hunger starts to kick in and a little pick-me-up seems to be in order. The English were on to something when they formalized the ritual of high tea. This civilized snack need not be limited to triangular finger sandwiches, clotted cream and hot Earl Grey tea, especially during these warm summer months. Consider a lighter and younger iced tea party for your next event. Tea and Sympathy...for Other Beverages: If you are going to make an iced high tea, do not feel limited to the realm of tea alone by leaving out...
by
What I love most about cookbooks are the possibilities contained within. The endlessly delicious possibilities. Just the potluck of choices and mouth-watering ideas pulled together in one place is certainly food for thought, no pun intended. Whereas one day you might be looking for a little lunch inspiration and another time something simple for supper, other times it's specific: a pancake recipe, a pasta salad or directions for baking a pot roast. Of course, with the advent of the Internet, the very tool at your fingertips right now (plus CDKitchen of course!)...
by
Bachelors worthy of autonomy have got to do something about their breakfasts. What is up with the dried cereal flakes with water y'all? That's just nasty. Cold pizza? Barf. Oatmeal? Ok, that's more respectable, but still: where's the freshliciousness? If you cannot do better than oatmeal, you deserve to move back in with mother. To avert that fate, I have a dandy suggestion that will not only impress your friends, but tastes good too: omelets with fresh veggies! Now, at first blush the suggestion that you should make omelets on a regular basis sounds time consuming...
by
Almost ten years ago, my mom's crockpot was a much-used item in our kitchen. With four kids, a small farm, and my dad's business, she had very little time to cook. I remember her throwing a whole chicken, vegetables, and potatoes into a crockpot, turning it on at 9:00 in the morning, and not touching it until 6:00 or 7:00 that night. We never thought twice about the fact that the chicken was uncooked for the majority of the time it was sitting in the crockpot. We never had a problem, but there are health concerns about meat sitting at an uncooked, unsafe temperature...
by
What is boxty, you want to know? Good question. For if you were paying attention to the poem, you should not only know what boxty is, you should definitely know how to cook it. For "if you can't make boxty, you'll never get a man." (So maybe that's my problem!) Okay, I didn't know what boxty was either until a couple of weeks ago. But I figured with a poem like that, I better find out what it was...