I love the cooler weather of fall. It puts me in the mood to cook! There’s something about a cool, crisp breeze and overcast skies that puts me in the mood to just spend the day in the kitchen. Another reason I love fall is because of the heartier richer flavors that emerge again…winter squashes, pungent baking spices like cinnamon … Read More
Wildly Delicious
People often presume that because I’m a chef I cook all kinds of amazing meals at home. I love food and cooking but when it comes to cooking for myself I want something that is quick. Mushrooms, both fresh and dried are a great ingredient to keep on hand for quick meals or easy entertaining. [picapp src=”b/5/c/8/Shiitake_mushrooms_Lentinula_d334.jpg?adImageId=4879214&imageId=5102519″ width=”380″ height=”303″ /] … Read More
In a Pickle
Enjoying a rare Saturday off a week ago, I decided to start the day off with a visit to the Forsyth Farmer’s Market. Unlike the farmer’s markets often found in places like Santa Monica, San Francisco, New York and other major cities, it’s very modest. A “good” showing by vendors means that there will be about 6-8 booths offering things from … Read More
A Chef, a Nun, and a Pianist…
Several chefs, nuns, and a jazz pianist walk into a hotel…Kinda sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, doesn’t it? Actually it’s not… The better question would be: What do 14 chefs, a seaside resort, and a healthcare system have in common? Thankfully NOT a massive case of food poisoning! It does however sound like “Delicious Destinations” an amazing … Read More
Atlanta and The Next Food Network Star
Although I haven’t been making any recent blog posts I have been busy with various side projects outside of my standard cooking classes at 700 Kitchen Cooking School.
Last month I headed to Atlanta over a weekend to go to an open casting call for the sixth season of “Next Food Network Star”….
Biscuit Bliss
Black & Blue Biscuits Recently a friend commented that despite the fact that he was born and raised in the South, and grew up cooking with his grandmother, he was somehow shorted on the all important southern “biscuit gene”. Aren’t all southerner’s supposed to be able to whip out the flour, add some lard and 10 minutes later have biscuits … Read More
Flour Power
Are you one of those people who prefer cooking to baking? Even as professional chefs go, very few openly embrace both aspects…just watch some of the cooking competition shows on TV and you’ll very likely see the “headlights in the eyes of a deer” look from more than one contestant. “Baking is too exact…it’s a science and cooking is an … Read More
“C is for Cookie”
Who can believe that August is already here?? Yikes..it seems like spring was only yesterday and now the stores are advertising “Back to School” sales and I’m trying to get in the mindset for Christmas. Lest I come across as one of those Überorganized people who plan vacations, parties and social events two seasons ahead let me dispel that myth right … Read More
Remember When Cooking Shows Really Were About Cooking?
I have always been fascinated by food. My earliest food memories are of me at the age of 4 0r 5, standing on a folding wooden stool by the kitchen sink, and using mom’s vegetable trimmings to make a “salad” in an recycled plastic storage container. Sure, it was an odd combination of lettuce cores, carrot trimmings, and the ends … Read More
Fruit: Is it “Ripe”?
Why don’t grocery store tomatoes taste like the flavorful ones we get from farmstands and our backyard? Why don’t nectarines found in the store in February every taste like the ones in July? It all comes down to understanding ripeness. Ripeness in fruit is not based on color alone. Color will change as a fruit becomes ripe (red bell peppers … Read More