I know, you think for New Year’s Eve that the combination should be lobster and champagne, but grapefruit pairs beautifully with lobster. In fact, lobster in grapefruit beurre blanc is Chef Bernard Pilon’s favorite dish (don’t miss his all-scallop class on January 23). By request, here is a fabulous menu for tomorrow night: rich and […]

We finished digging up the garlic today, despite the heavy heat. Here I am moving the bundles of garlic to a shed so that they can dry. (The chicken coop is in the background.) Yes, it is fun to drive a tractor! We are eating garlic every day, so all of the vampires have left the premises. Here […]

The three ingredients that I always have in my refrigerator are butter, eggs, and heavy cream. Butter and eggs have a long shelf-life, but sometimes I run out of the more perishable heavy cream. What to do? My ace in the hole is a supply of canned coconut milk in the pantry. Coconut milk (which […]

It’s okay to eat white foods in winter; potatoes, turnips, parsnips, and cauliflower are vegetables that match the season. The only response to a dreary, gray winter sky is to make a pot of soup. This basic soup recipe gets additional depth of flavor from roasting and caramelizing the cauliflower. For a change of pace, garnish […]

Chef Bruce Piatek II is the executive chef of Eleven Eleven Mississippi. His wife, Anne Piatek, is also a chef. She works as a personal chef to families creating nutritious and healthy meals. Together, Bruce and Anne teach really wonderful cooking classes at Kitchen Conservatory because their different styles compliment each other so well. At their last […]

“I’d like to get my grand-daughter a sushi-making kit. Do you have one?” a customer called to ask. Yes, we have the sushi mat and rice paddle available. “I want a kit that has everything in it,” the grandmother said. To make sushi, all you really need is the wooden mat for rolling up the ingredients. […]

A liaison (as a cooking term) describes a thickening agent, such as a butter-flour roux, which is used to thicken sauces and soup. A really wonderful liaison is custard — egg yolks and cream — which thickens and transforms a sauce into a delicious concoction with a delicate and voluptuous mouthfeel. Custard sauces are tricky […]

Chicken Soup