Although this web site and it’s attached blogs are about wrapping food for the home cook, this blog will provide some of my favorite unwrapped recipes, as well as tips, tricks and product recommendations.
The kitchen has always been a major area of fellowship in the house, a center for love, warmth and joy. However, it is also the room with the most hazards and risks. Most of these issues come from poor design, poor ergonomics, or lack of attention and planning. Shelves too high or too low, high…
A little package with great big flavor Every time I cook, I learn something new. Early on in my cooking career I would carefully peel the husk from garlic cloves, which would take lots of time. Since I love garlic and when a dish called for multiple cloves, it seemed I spent an inordinate amount…
Aperol is an Italian bitters apéritif made of gentian, rhubarb, and cinchona, among other ingredients. It has a vibrant orange hue. Its name comes from the Italian slang word for aperitivo, which is apero. Prosecco is an Italian DOC or DOCG white wine produced in a large area spanning nine provinces in the Veneto and…
Home-made French Onion Dip is well worth the effort. It is delicious and will work with home-made potato chips, vegetable sticks, baguette, or other chips.
I love a good garlic dip, frankly I love all things garlic! This dip works well with potato chips, pretzels, baguettes and just about any other type of chip or crackers. You can use sliced vegetables as well. It is unfortunate that so many grocery stores sell poor garlic, small heads with small cloves that…
The making of sauerkraut is simplicity itself. It requires very clean conditions, but only a few ingredients. I love sauerkraut on sandwiches (with corn beef and swiss cheese), in a salad, with sausages, and just by itself. Believe it or not, I will have this as a nighttime snack. I have tried this with a…
Being a chef is, in a broad sense, is a profession, requiring years of practice and hours of dedicated work. This can be summed up in the concept of “apprenticeship”. In my life I have been a musician, goldsmith, now a physician, all of which required an “apprenticeship” and a continued desire to learn the “trade” or “profession”. To understand the dedication required to become this type of professional, I suggest you read Jacque Pepin’s book, “The Apprentice”.
The Banana plant is a flowering herbaceous plant. It has a central stalk and blades (leaves) on all sides. These leaves can grow to a size of 6 ½ feet (2 meters). Banana leaves are used throughout Asia to wrap food. They do lend a subtle flavor to the food and a “vibrant” color. They are inexpensive, can usually be found in oriental food stores, or on line.