When a recipe calls for “deglazing with wine,” what does that mean? What wine should a cook use? We did a comparison in cooking classes recently and we were amazed at the results. Better wine really does make a better sauce. When we made steak bordelaise with a $5 cabernet, the sauce was sharp and […]

The party yesterday for Marla Scissors was a huge success, with over 500 people in attendance, and the event raised over $32,000 for fighting ALS! Wow! There were many beautiful and delicious desserts; one dessert (baked by Barry Marcus) was so sought after that after the auction closed, a little old lady elbowed her way […]

St. Louis Magazine At Home has published a recipe from Kitchen Conservatory for a Sunday night supper. This one-dish menu is easy to prepare ahead of time and always a hit. This recipe would also be perfect for this Monday night — New Year’s Eve. “Papillote” is the French word for butterfly, because of the […]

salvaging a family favorite

the versatility of choux paste

Italian meringue

maple syrup and maple sugar

how to make mayonnaise

Many recipes call for “reduction.” Reducing a liquid by boiling it down until it is half or third or a quarter of the original volume intensifies the flavor. A concentrated liquid adds more flavor than a thin liquid. Great sauces are made from reductions because the flavor base packs a wallop. Reductions are critically important […]

On the last day of summer we ate the last of our tomatoes — and they didn’t taste as good as they did in July. They were a little crunchy and mealy and not as juicy, but we ate them (slathered in pesto sauce), because we knew our next tomato would be ten months from […]