The entire point of having a juicer is to make life easier, save time, and minimize effort. Most juicers, if not all, are designed in such a way that anyone can use them, assuming they follow the basic rules. If one’s intention is to simply place a fruit or a vegetable in a machine, switch … Read more
Who doesn’t love a good grilled steak or even veggie kabob? It’s something about a grill that makes even the most hesitant cook step up and want to give it a try. But right now, 2016 is off to a very frigid start with an epic snowstorm that has left much of the East Coast … Read more
Being familiar with the sauce finishing methods you should apply when making a sauce is crucial. It really isn’t all that complicated – there are only three basic techniques – but you need to be aware of them and what each one does. Reduction Sauces reduce as they are cooked. It is because moisture is … Read more
With the holiday season fast approaching, entertaining is in full swing! You want to celebrate with good friends and good food, but you don’t want to spend weeks in a panic! RELAX! Starting out with a cheese tray is very easy and relieves you from more time consuming dishes. How often have you heard a … Read more
Garnishing is simply any attempt to add color and/or flavor so as to accent or dress up a dish you are serving. A garnish ties everything together! Whether you are cooking at the White House or just at your house, it can go a long way towards making an otherwise hum-drum meal appear interesting and … Read more
Dry heat cooking methods include broiling, grilling, roasting, baking, sauteing, pan-frying, and deep-frying. Obviously, it would be very hard to be a gourmet cook and not be familiar with all of these cooking methods. Certain meats and vegetables thrive under the broiler, while others cry out for the roaster. It all depends on the cuts … Read more
It is really quite easy to cook a turkey and with Thanksgiving right around the corner, what a better time to learn! If your cooking for the family and friends, the anxiety has already started. Right? You want to present them with the best Thanksgiving turkey they’ve ever tasted, but it can be quite a … Read more
Here are a few food presentation tips to help you begin to understand this incredibly important aspect of gourmet cooking. How food is plated, or arranged on the plate and garnished, figures deeply in one’s reaction to it. It even affects how we think the food tastes. A plate of food is like a painting, … Read more
A properly made hollandaise sauce is smooth, buttery, pale lemon-yellow-colored and very rich. It is lump-free and should not exhibit any signs of separation. The buttery flavor should dominate but not mask the flavors of the egg, lemon and vinegar. Occasionally, a hollandaise will break or separate and appear thin, grainy or even … Read more
“Plating food” refers to placing food on a plate in as appealing a manner as possible. Many cooks give short shrift to this concept, but let me assure you, presentation is a very important part of the dining experience because we eat with our eyes first. One of the things we all most enjoy about … Read more
Cooking stocks are an integral part of any well-stocked (no pun intended) kitchen. To be considered a chef, versus a mere cook, you need to know how to make and use good stocks. I kid you not. Stocks may seem intimidating because you think you need to make the stock fresh before you start the … Read more
My favorite two types of combination cooking methods are braising and stewing. I don’t know why, but some would-be cooks seem to shy away from these two methods of cooking. Maybe it’s because they are referred to as “combination” methods of cooking, and therefore must be more complicated or difficult than “regular” cooking. But it’s … Read more
I probably shouldn’t do this, but I am going to share a secret method of beef tenderloin cooking with you that will wow everyone you feed it to. Consider this a “Thank You” gift from me for visiting this, my new website, my labor of love. I took a wonderful seminar from a chef named … Read more
The correct beef cooking times will become second nature to you as you advance on your path toward becoming a gourmet cook. I am quite comfortable relying on the “touch” approach, and you will be too. But I recommend that you stick with a meat thermometer at first. Chefs generally gauge beef cooking times by … Read more
Below you will find the two best fried chicken recipes I have ever tasted. I know, I know, the first thing that comes to mind when you think of gourmet cooking isn’t fried chicken. Well, I don’t care. I love fried chicken! Now, there is fried chicken and there is good fried chicken. I’m sure … Read more
The main reason for cooking food with wine is the benefit of added flavor! When you are cooking food with wine, there is one basic rule to remember: always use a good wine. That doesn’t mean you have to use an expensive wine, simply use a good tasting wine, or one that you like to … Read more
When it comes to cooking lamb, I am always amazed at the number of people who automatically and fervently proclaim their distaste for the idea. All they know for sure is that they don’t like lamb. Period. Every now and then, though, I find an open minded person who is willing to actually give one … Read more
I often think that cooking pork tenderloin is a lost art. Everyone has a great steak recipe, or a roast chicken or beef roast recipe “to die for”. But who ever brags about their pork tenderloin recipes? I do, that’s who. I love cooking pork tenderloin, and when you finish reading this web page I … Read more
I’ll bet you never thought you’d be reading a web page entitled “How to Brine a Turkey”. Brining is not exactly at the forefront of current turkey preparation and cooking methods.But it should be. Just wait until you try the recipe you will find below. I predict it will become your standard Thanksgiving Day recipe … Read more
What’s better than a great steak? For many, the answer is, “Nothing!” But never fear, my “Best Steak Recipe Ever” is here to save the day. If you are ever going to call yourself a gourmet cook, you absolutely must know how to prepare a great steak. The method below is exactly how they do … Read more