cdkitchen > feeddaily blog
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With the weather making a gradual transition from winter to spring, so changes my cooking. The winter, though not particularly cold this year, was enough so to warrant those heartier dishes that stick to the ribs, warm the belly, and generally bulk up the body to protect against the cold. This year I managed a host of these traditional winter foods. There was the beef bourguignon, simmered low and long until the sauce was an unctuous red-brown and the beef so tender it melted with the slightest touch of a fork. A serendipitous supermarket find led to an epic rabbit...
by
The two most popular centerpiece dishes of an Easter Sunday dinner are roast lamb or glazed ham. An informal survey reveals that these are equally well-liked choices, and opinions run strong about having one or the other. Based on what you see at a regular supermarket, ham is the thing. But go to the local specialty butcher or farmer's market in the spring and you are just as likely to find whole lambs or all different cuts of it for sale. Both have their traditional places on the springtime table. Lamb has been regarded as a religious symbol since ancient times. It was at...
by
Last week I gave an overview of eggs in Eggspert Advice: Part I. This week I would like to share some specific techniques for scrambling eggs and making omelets. Even though scrambled eggs and omelets are probably the two most common ways we prepare eggs, so many people do not actually follow the proper methods. The following techniques will make fluffy, tender and tasty eggs. The Scramble Preamble: Scrambling eggs is so simple--perhaps too simple, and therefore often overlooked as an invaluable skill to master. This point was made clear to me in culinary school...
by
It was tucked into the side of one of the gift baskets I received from my Mom and Dad this Christmas: a small, nondescript bottle surrounded by bubble wrap with a rather homemade-looking computer printed label that indicated it was Everlasting Vanilla. Ahhh, vanilla. I just love it. But everlasting? If this did indeed mean not running out of my all-time-favorite flavoring, that sounded mighty fine to me. And I bet that everlasting referred to vanilla's powerful replenishing ability - to be able to flavor a lot of alcohol. For it's those beans that contain divine...
by
It's Saturday night and friends are coming for dinner. You have just one oven. Four dishes need to be cooked in that oven and served hot at the same time. There is no way you can roast a chicken, bake a casserole and warm two side dishes at the last minute. Something has to be made first and something has to be made last. But how can food be reheated without being recooked? Do It in a Flash: Food can be cooked either "a la minute," literally meaning "to the minute," or to order; or food can be made ahead of time and then reheated for service. The latter...
by
Christmas has prime rib roasts, pork crowns, and the occasional goose. Easter has lamb and ham. And Thanksgiving, well, everyone knows what bird is front and center on that holiday. Why is it that we always start holiday meal planning with a giant centerpiece of meat? I can understand Thanksgiving, a holiday built around the sharing of a meal. But Easter, a day of church-going for some and egg hunting for others, has always begged a different approach in my opinion. In my mind Easter is all about the casual brunch. After the Sunday dresses are back in...
by
We've all been here. It is the end of a long day at work. You've shuttled the kids to their after school activities and maybe you even fit in the gym. You know the refrigerator has leftovers, odds and ends from several nights where you actually had the time to cook. Tonight will have to be a night where the microwave gets put to its only use, reheating dinner. But you open the refrigerator and nothing looks good. You've been eating from Tupperware all week. You might not have the energy to muster a dish completely from scratch but it would be really nice if somehow...
by
Buttercream roses. It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? And it's a phrase that sure grabbed my daughter's attention. Buttercream roses entered our life with the book Bunny Cakes by Rosemary Wells. For me, buttercream roses conjure up cobbled stone pathways, shady hedges, thatched roof cottages and tea in the garden. Yes, I can see why they caught my daughter's attention when we read this book. Not only is it a Max and Ruby adventure that takes place in the kitchen, the pictures show a cozy cottage kitchen. It just makes...
by
Hard boiled eggs have it rough. Their popularity waxes and wanes with the seasons and trends up or down at the whim of the latest hip restaurants. Eggs themselves are a year round staple for everything from omelets to cake batter. But hard boiled, eggs are the forgotten ingredient, that is until Easter comes around and you are left to wonder what exactly you are to do with those several dozen fully cooked eggs with jewel colored shells crowding the refrigerator. From snack food to main course ingredient, hard boiled eggs are popular in many parts of the globe, every day...
by
March 25th is Greek Independence Day, so let's celebrate Greek food. So much more than feta cheese and phyllo (FEE-lo) dough, Greek cuisine is about fresh ingredients and vibrant, simple flavors. Although feta and phyllo are certainly in the culinary canon, there is so much more that pervades any Greek menu. First, let's clear up a few misconceptions. Most of us associate certain things with Greek cuisine that actually have little to do with classic Greek cooking. Pita bread, for example, is not at all Greek. In fact, you would not see pita as...
by
I. Love. Cheese. As far as I'm concerned, I could live on bread and cheese alone. But faithful readers know all that already. "Oh, Rebecca, why are you talking about how much you love cheese again? Cheese is cheese. And why on earth are you talking about cheese in a dessert and pastry column," you ask? Because cheese makes an absolutely lovely dessert. In fact, in fine dining, cheese is a course before dessert and even sometimes takes the place of dessert altogether. Sometimes simply sweet doesn't do justice to a spectacular meal, and the complexity of...
by
Is there a kid alive who doesn't love a sleepover? And anytime there's a group of kids, you know it won't be long until the hunger pangs strike. I was listening to NPR the other day and heard an interesting segment on kids' sleepovers. They were interviewing people and asking what they remembered about sleepovers when they were kids. There were stories that were as different (and quirky) as night and day. For some folks remembered the games, others remembered being up-all-night-with-no-sleep, and others remembered the goofy, wild things that kids dare each other to do...
by
You see it all the time in restaurants and it has a permanent place on the grocery shelf, but there is a reason why right now, like no other time during the year, is the time for asparagus. Although you would hardly know it by its prevalence today, there was a time when asparagus was a delicacy limited to the Mediterranean region. Now hothouses around the world from Peru to China to Michigan give us access to this nutritious green vegetable year-round. However, depending on where you live, now is the time that asparagus grown in the great wide open is blossoming with...
by
The epitome of a springtime cookie is the pastel colored, light as air French style macaron. Originally from Paris, these almond and egg white based treats come in a multitude of flavors and colors. The first time I tried one, I was instantly hooked. These craveable cookies feature a crackly crust encasing a chewy center and are sandwiched with a layer of creamy filling. They have become popular throughout the world over the past few years. While macarons are similar in name and share the same roots as the denser coconut macaroon cookie you might have grown up with, they...
by
I have recently returned from a vacation of sorts. Although I don't think that the adventurous three weeks of my journey through China constitute the sort of rest and relaxation that the word "vacation" implies. No matter, however, because that is how I like to spend my time off. You see, travelling is a necessity in my life, both for my work and for my peace of mind. A journey to explore a place--whether it's as close as my neighboring borough or as far as Southeast Asia--is an opportunity to expand my global understanding and to gain perspective, particularly on the life I...
by
Because I am so adventuresome about food now, it may come as a surprise to many people I know that growing up I was a very picky eater. My parents did everything the right way, exposing us kids to the wonders of fresh vegetables and new and interesting cuisines, but I was often the last one stuck at the table (We followed the old fashioned clean your plate rule). I never let things like mushrooms, tomatoes, or red meat pass my lips, and more likely ended up feeding them to the family dog or wadding them up inside of my napkin.
From The Editors At CDKitchen: Feed Daily
by
With the weather making a gradual transition from winter to spring, so changes my cooking. The winter, though not particularly cold this year, was enough so to warrant those heartier dishes that stick to the ribs, warm the belly, and generally bulk up the body to protect against the cold. This year I managed a host of these traditional winter foods. There was the beef bourguignon, simmered low and long until the sauce was an unctuous red-brown and the beef so tender it melted with the slightest touch of a fork. A serendipitous supermarket find led to an epic rabbit...
by
The two most popular centerpiece dishes of an Easter Sunday dinner are roast lamb or glazed ham. An informal survey reveals that these are equally well-liked choices, and opinions run strong about having one or the other. Based on what you see at a regular supermarket, ham is the thing. But go to the local specialty butcher or farmer's market in the spring and you are just as likely to find whole lambs or all different cuts of it for sale. Both have their traditional places on the springtime table. Lamb has been regarded as a religious symbol since ancient times. It was at...
by
Last week I gave an overview of eggs in Eggspert Advice: Part I. This week I would like to share some specific techniques for scrambling eggs and making omelets. Even though scrambled eggs and omelets are probably the two most common ways we prepare eggs, so many people do not actually follow the proper methods. The following techniques will make fluffy, tender and tasty eggs. The Scramble Preamble: Scrambling eggs is so simple--perhaps too simple, and therefore often overlooked as an invaluable skill to master. This point was made clear to me in culinary school...
by
It was tucked into the side of one of the gift baskets I received from my Mom and Dad this Christmas: a small, nondescript bottle surrounded by bubble wrap with a rather homemade-looking computer printed label that indicated it was Everlasting Vanilla. Ahhh, vanilla. I just love it. But everlasting? If this did indeed mean not running out of my all-time-favorite flavoring, that sounded mighty fine to me. And I bet that everlasting referred to vanilla's powerful replenishing ability - to be able to flavor a lot of alcohol. For it's those beans that contain divine...
by
It's Saturday night and friends are coming for dinner. You have just one oven. Four dishes need to be cooked in that oven and served hot at the same time. There is no way you can roast a chicken, bake a casserole and warm two side dishes at the last minute. Something has to be made first and something has to be made last. But how can food be reheated without being recooked? Do It in a Flash: Food can be cooked either "a la minute," literally meaning "to the minute," or to order; or food can be made ahead of time and then reheated for service. The latter...
by
Christmas has prime rib roasts, pork crowns, and the occasional goose. Easter has lamb and ham. And Thanksgiving, well, everyone knows what bird is front and center on that holiday. Why is it that we always start holiday meal planning with a giant centerpiece of meat? I can understand Thanksgiving, a holiday built around the sharing of a meal. But Easter, a day of church-going for some and egg hunting for others, has always begged a different approach in my opinion. In my mind Easter is all about the casual brunch. After the Sunday dresses are back in...
by
We've all been here. It is the end of a long day at work. You've shuttled the kids to their after school activities and maybe you even fit in the gym. You know the refrigerator has leftovers, odds and ends from several nights where you actually had the time to cook. Tonight will have to be a night where the microwave gets put to its only use, reheating dinner. But you open the refrigerator and nothing looks good. You've been eating from Tupperware all week. You might not have the energy to muster a dish completely from scratch but it would be really nice if somehow...
by
Buttercream roses. It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? And it's a phrase that sure grabbed my daughter's attention. Buttercream roses entered our life with the book Bunny Cakes by Rosemary Wells. For me, buttercream roses conjure up cobbled stone pathways, shady hedges, thatched roof cottages and tea in the garden. Yes, I can see why they caught my daughter's attention when we read this book. Not only is it a Max and Ruby adventure that takes place in the kitchen, the pictures show a cozy cottage kitchen. It just makes...
by
Hard boiled eggs have it rough. Their popularity waxes and wanes with the seasons and trends up or down at the whim of the latest hip restaurants. Eggs themselves are a year round staple for everything from omelets to cake batter. But hard boiled, eggs are the forgotten ingredient, that is until Easter comes around and you are left to wonder what exactly you are to do with those several dozen fully cooked eggs with jewel colored shells crowding the refrigerator. From snack food to main course ingredient, hard boiled eggs are popular in many parts of the globe, every day...
by
March 25th is Greek Independence Day, so let's celebrate Greek food. So much more than feta cheese and phyllo (FEE-lo) dough, Greek cuisine is about fresh ingredients and vibrant, simple flavors. Although feta and phyllo are certainly in the culinary canon, there is so much more that pervades any Greek menu. First, let's clear up a few misconceptions. Most of us associate certain things with Greek cuisine that actually have little to do with classic Greek cooking. Pita bread, for example, is not at all Greek. In fact, you would not see pita as...
by
I. Love. Cheese. As far as I'm concerned, I could live on bread and cheese alone. But faithful readers know all that already. "Oh, Rebecca, why are you talking about how much you love cheese again? Cheese is cheese. And why on earth are you talking about cheese in a dessert and pastry column," you ask? Because cheese makes an absolutely lovely dessert. In fact, in fine dining, cheese is a course before dessert and even sometimes takes the place of dessert altogether. Sometimes simply sweet doesn't do justice to a spectacular meal, and the complexity of...
by
Is there a kid alive who doesn't love a sleepover? And anytime there's a group of kids, you know it won't be long until the hunger pangs strike. I was listening to NPR the other day and heard an interesting segment on kids' sleepovers. They were interviewing people and asking what they remembered about sleepovers when they were kids. There were stories that were as different (and quirky) as night and day. For some folks remembered the games, others remembered being up-all-night-with-no-sleep, and others remembered the goofy, wild things that kids dare each other to do...
by
You see it all the time in restaurants and it has a permanent place on the grocery shelf, but there is a reason why right now, like no other time during the year, is the time for asparagus. Although you would hardly know it by its prevalence today, there was a time when asparagus was a delicacy limited to the Mediterranean region. Now hothouses around the world from Peru to China to Michigan give us access to this nutritious green vegetable year-round. However, depending on where you live, now is the time that asparagus grown in the great wide open is blossoming with...
by
The epitome of a springtime cookie is the pastel colored, light as air French style macaron. Originally from Paris, these almond and egg white based treats come in a multitude of flavors and colors. The first time I tried one, I was instantly hooked. These craveable cookies feature a crackly crust encasing a chewy center and are sandwiched with a layer of creamy filling. They have become popular throughout the world over the past few years. While macarons are similar in name and share the same roots as the denser coconut macaroon cookie you might have grown up with, they...
by
I have recently returned from a vacation of sorts. Although I don't think that the adventurous three weeks of my journey through China constitute the sort of rest and relaxation that the word "vacation" implies. No matter, however, because that is how I like to spend my time off. You see, travelling is a necessity in my life, both for my work and for my peace of mind. A journey to explore a place--whether it's as close as my neighboring borough or as far as Southeast Asia--is an opportunity to expand my global understanding and to gain perspective, particularly on the life I...
by
Because I am so adventuresome about food now, it may come as a surprise to many people I know that growing up I was a very picky eater. My parents did everything the right way, exposing us kids to the wonders of fresh vegetables and new and interesting cuisines, but I was often the last one stuck at the table (We followed the old fashioned clean your plate rule). I never let things like mushrooms, tomatoes, or red meat pass my lips, and more likely ended up feeding them to the family dog or wadding them up inside of my napkin.