Category Archives: Cooking

Here you’ll find everything about cooking that isn’t actually a recipe. Tips, techniques, gripes, whatever.

Foods of the World: Middle Eastern Cooking

Some 40 years before Ottolenghi’s Jerusalem, Time-Life Books introduced American home cooks to the wonders of Middle Eastern cuisine with its Middle Eastern Cooking – Foods Of The World. Some of the books in the series dumbed down the flavors … Continue reading

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Five tips for handling bread dough using the stretch-and-fold method

Here are a few useful tactics and problem-solving tips I’ve discovered making lots and lots of loaves of bread by hand using the stretch-and-fold method. I haven’t seen these elsewhere so am publishing in the hopes they’re useful to you … Continue reading

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Men, fire and food: a visit with Bruce Frankel of Spitjack

Bruce Frankel was a chef with an idea. Tired of long hours and not great financial success at a Boston nouvelle cuisine (remember?) fine dining place in the 1980s, he decided to do something entrepreneurial. He looked at molecular gastronomy … Continue reading

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Why I love Crystal Hot Sauce

Do a web search for “Crystal vs Tabasco” and you’ll find lots of Louisiana stories about how one po-boy restaurant uses one, another the other as a matter of personal preference. Buy two bottles and try them side by side … Continue reading

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Red Boat Salt: just get some now

  I have previously written about the nectar which is Red Boat Fish sauce and why, considering the modest premium compared to generic nuoc mam, there is no reason not to make it your default fish sauce. Now Sam Luu, the … Continue reading

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Thrill on the Grill with Market Bistro

The other day I cooked up a nice grilled dinner that was inspired by my recent Two Guys and a Grill class at Market Bistro. I was further stimulated by the chemistry of warm early summer weather and being able … Continue reading

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Recipe: Steak with Green Chimichurri Sauce

John Winnek shared this refreshing Argentine steak condiment in our Market Bistro grilling class. You can use some as a marinade, but be sure to save plenty to serve on the plate with the meat. It’s great for sopping up … Continue reading

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Certified Angus Beef grilling class at Market Bistro

I’ll be sharing a few recipes over the next couple of weeks from a grilling class with John Winnek, the resident chef and chief instructor at the Market Bistro Cooking School in Latham, NY. John has an easy, confident way … Continue reading

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My first spherification experiment

Longtime readers will assume Burnt My Fingers has jumped the shark when I tell you we spent last weekend forming carrot juice and pea soup into little globules. I have been doing some work with the folks at Modernist Pantry, … Continue reading

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Recipe: Spiedie Marinade for Spiedies

This is the spiedie marinade I used for my spiedies taste test, corrected to include paprika like the winner. It produces moist, tender grilled meats whether you use lamb (the classic), pork, chicken or beef. Makes enough to marinate 1 … Continue reading

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