"hand-tossed"

Avoid hand-tossed dough. If you can physically spin your pizza dough above your head then the gluten formation is most likely more complex than you would want to "chew".

exams aw aw

exams.

yes it's that stuff...all over again.

now sing along!

the carpals are connected to the metacarpals..the metacarpals are connected to the.....

Christmas less than a week away oh my!

WOW.

It's almost here and I am almost ready.

I am not however ready for the end of the year.

Bringing back fireplace cookery

I'm bringing it back.

That's right.

Cookin in the fireplace.

Growing up at my house during the wintertime always presented more adventure in foodland. Not only did we use our piles and piles of cut timber to burn cozy and smokey fires providing cozy heat in the family room, but we also "maximized" it by yes...cooking in the fireplace.

Most people might tell you that burning wood smoke can add unnatural levels of toxicity to cooked food. They'd tell you that you'd have to burn the wood until it becomes solely embers and then to cook atop the red glowing coals.

Well, we didn't follow that rule at my house.

You see, the unburnt portions of logs would actually act as excellent "ledges" on which we could rest the end of a bbq basket. Yeah those flat baskets with a handle that you can buy at the sporting goods store, a lot of people use them for vegetables and fish etc....we just used it for everything.

I still don't really understand how odd it is for someone to whip out a frozen steak and toss it onto a grate on the fireplace. We did everything, from chicken wings to pork chops, I even did a bit of flatbread that turned out awesome.

Tonight I'm whipping up a batch of bagels in the regular oven and then finish them in the fireplace hoping to get some serious wood smoke and char.

I'd call it a lost art....then again I don't think it was an art to begin with.

Foods that begin with "B" = Good

As I was chomping down on a Noah's pumpkin bagel with pumpkin-cream cheese schmear I thought to myself...hmm..most foods that begin with the letter "B" tend to be pretty alright.

In no particular order, here are some delicious examples of good B's....

1. Bagels - Fresh from Noah's
2. Broccoli - Roasted please!
3. Burger - Duh.
4. Branzino - Med-fish good-fish
5. Burrito - Hold the gas.
6. Banana - They work.
7. Brandade - Face it, mashed potatoes mixed with anything is good.
8. Beans - More fiber=more ____
9. Brazil Nuts - ok I'm stretching it a bit
10. Bread - goes with.....
11. Brie - and also...
12. Burrata - which is kinda like...
13. Butter
14. Borscht - mmm..cabbagey
15. Brunello di Montelcino (wine counts right?)
16. Bourdeaux (cab sauv/claret)
17. Burgundy (pinot noir)
18. BEER
19. BRUNCH - ok so it's not a food per say but it encompasses many types of food such as...
20. Beef
21. Bratwurst
22. Buffalo
23. Bucatini
24. Beer
25. Broth (soup would not be the same without it)
26. Baba Ghanouj
27. Bulgur
28. Broccolini (different than no. 2)
29. Bechamel
30. Baccala/Bacalao
31. Baklava
32. Balsamic Vinegar
33. Berries
34. BBQ (ok it's a classification)
35. Barley -used to make...
36. Beer...again
37. Barolo
38. Basil
39. Basmati Rice
40. Bearnaise
41. Beets (always remember when you eat them...don't freak out)
42. Beignets
43. Bellini
44. Braised anything
45. Bechemel
46. BROWNIES
47. Bittersweet
48. Biscotti
49. BEER
50. BLUE cheese
51. Blini
52. Bourbon
53. Bok Choy
54. Butterscotch

That's about all I feel like listing now.

My Owner Needs A Job

If you all didn't know, Jody is my owner.


He needs a job right now.


Not a real real job, just a part-time one, or one that is flexible enough to let him continue with classes at the school.



Please help! Save the Wombats!

Jacques Pepin, does he understand what fast means?

Fast food my way....

So I'm sitting here scouring the job market on the computer and just happen to have Jacques Pepin on the create channel.

He describes his "new" show as being Fast food his way.

It truly makes me wonder how long his non-fast food takes to cook. Granted he does finish a complete meal in 30 minutes....while utilizing every single pan and dish and technique ever known to man. And of course, I believe the actual cooking time takes 30 minutes...but the clean-up will most likely take at least another 30..(sorry Rachel Ray, but you can't even cook and clean in 30 minutes alone!).

I really wish that when I came home that all my ingredients were laid out and perfectly prepped for the daily meal....and not only that but having three different prep areas with three completely separate cutting boards and knives would be nice too.

No disrespect Jacques...I know you're the guy who has truly revolutionized the way people think about food (ode to Howard Johnson days), but Baked Clams Madison, Black Olive tapenade encrusted cod, peeled and tournedoed roasted broccoli, and hazelnut-chocolate creme mousse....in 30 minutes. I'd like to see him turn that out in a kitchen 1/5th the size (which I truly believe he could do with one arm tied behind his back and half-drunk on a bottle of Cotes Du Nuites while batting off his once-perky but now overly-annoying and cliche side-kick daughter).

Back to searching.