“Biscuit” is one of those words that has a variety of meanings depending on where and by whom it’s being used. In England the term “Biscuit” is the same as what Americans would call a “cookie”. My friend Gary is originally from Scotland and when he first visited me in Orlando he was quite perplexed (and perhaps even a bit … Read More
Easy Fruit Danish
These fruit Danish pastries are easy to make and will probably taste better than a lot of the packaged pastry goods you get in your local market. These were originally done with Pilsbury refrigerated breadsticks and came from one of our entertaining classes at the Disney Institute. In the past year or so, Pilsbury has come out with “Crescent Rounds” … Read More
Dessert Tricks up your Sleeve – Try Zabaglione!
A lot of people that enjoy cooking, don’t necessarily enjoy baking – chef’s included! In restaurants there are desserts that are the province of bakers and pastry chefs, and then yet another that are often called “cook’s desserts”. “Cook’s desserts” are those which aren’t terribly complicated, don’t need hours of preparation and can be done rather quickly…like crepes, bread pudding, … Read More
All For the Love of Grits?
I’ve had many a bachelorette cooking class and even one couple who loved cooking and wanted to do my Culinary Challenge as their wedding reception. Now I can add engagement to the list of unique experiences that have occurred during a class! Congratulations to Jesse Barnes & Cicely Shelton who became engaged tonight during my Low Country Cuisine class! Earlier … Read More
Kitchen “Gadgets” – What the…?
The time has come for me to once again get up on my “soapbox”. This time it’s to air my frustration with kitchen “gadgets”. Now I know there are a lot of you out there that LOVE your gadgets so let me apologize in advance if I should happen to insult you in the course of this discourse. It is … Read More
Vegetable Spray –What do you Say……Yeah or Nay?
Peggi, a former guest of mine recently wrote me and asked about my thoughts on the use of non-stick vegetable oil sprays. “Did I like it and would I recommend that people use it?” she asked. Most definitely! Vegetable sprays (i.e. PAM and other such brands) are great for multiple reasons. My most common use is for spraying baking … Read More
Tomato Shortage
I just read a story on one of AOL’s blogs about how the cold temperatures in January have caused problems for chain restaurants sourcing tomatoes. It specifically cited Burger King and Subway. As stated in the story: “The chain has been running short on tomatoes for about week, leaving some disappointed customers without red ripe tomatoes on their Whoppers.” I … Read More
Re-Engineering Hot Dogs
I rarely have the time to read the paper but being that I’m away on a mini-vacation I awoke this morning to find a copy of USA Today that had been slipped under my hotel room door. I figured I’d take a quick glance before packing up to check out. First thing to catch my eye, right on the front … Read More
Chefs vs. City – Savannah
The week has just begun and already it’s a busy one! Last month I had a call from the producers of “Chefs vs. City”, a show on the Food Network that features two chefs who travel to various cities to compete against local chefs in food related competitions. They were making plans for an episode here in Savannah and wanted … Read More
Aphrodisiacs – Love at First Bite?
Chocolate, oysters, grapes, chilies, coffee and basil….what do they have in common? Throughout history, each of them has been considered to be an aphrodisiac. Royalty and common folk alike have sought to captivate the persons of their desire through feeding them aphrodisiacs, or consuming aphrodisiacs in order to appease those they loved.