Ray writes, “The soubise. I love it!” The recipe for this French-style risotto is here: Soubise. Betsy writes, “Mine is from the Novel Cuisine class with Appetite for America: the cauliflower recipe from the chefs at Union Station. It’s the go-to dish for potlucks. Everyone raves about it!” Thanks, Betsy, here it is: St. Louis […]

Are you a planner or are you a last-minute cook? Planners like slow-cookers because they know at breakfast what they are going to eat for tonight’s dinner. They probably also know what they are going to eat a week from tonight. I am not a planner. At 6 pm, I still don’t know what I […]

At big family meals, we always have carrots, because they look colorful and everybody likes carrots, and (most importantly for the cook) they can be made days ahead of time and easily reheated. Nobody ever says, “let’s have carrots tonight!” but if you serve carrots, be sure to peel and cut twice as many as you think […]

“A Passion for Cooking“ features the recipes from over a hundred different chefs who have cooked at Kitchen Conservatory. One of our favorite recipes from that cookbook – which several staff members make every Thanksgiving — is a pudding from chef Jim Voss of Duff’s (who also chefed for The Grateful Dead). Don’t miss his cooking class on […]

Sandy writes, “What’s your favorite non-dairy stuffing? I can’t mix meat and dairy.” Fair enough; tis the season for chestnuts! Fresh chestnuts can be hard to find, but frozen or canned whole, peeled chestnuts are readily available at specialty grocery stores. Chestnut Dressing 1 loaf of bread, preferably French baguette, cubed 1/2 cup duck fat 4 cups chopped […]

To stuff or not to stuff? I am firmly on the stuffer side of the debate. When the dressing is inside of the bird, it is basted with flavorful meat juices. The extra dressing baked on the side is never as tasty. The key to a good dressing is lots of seasonings: cook the aromatics first […]

“The discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness than the discovery of a new star,” wrote Brillat-Savarin in 1824. Sheila Lukins, who passed away this weekend from brain cancer, discovered many new dishes and did so much for human happiness for countless home cooks. Her first cookbook, “The Silver Palate Cookbook,” contains […]

“I want to make corn pudding.” “Really? Do you have a good recipe?” “Yes, it’s Julia Child’s corn pudding.” “That doesn’t make sense. Julia Child cooked French food and corn pudding is not French.” He searches through “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” Not there. “When did you last make corn pudding?” “Probably 25 years […]

So many delicious ears of corn and so many fabulous corn dishes — what’s a cornivore to eat first? Local corn is in. Fresh corn is delicious in so many dishes: soups, salads, salsas, souffles, puddings, omelets, pastas…the list is endless. The best part of the corn is the “milk” or juice inside the kernals. The easiest way […]

Over the transom came a recipe which I just had to try…because the first ingredient was a pound of butter. Reading further, the recipe instructs cooking the mushrooms for 6-8 hours in the said pound of butter. Wow. I did it and these mushrooms are indescribable. They are no mere fungi, but caramelized and intensely flavored. Want […]