Category Archives: Cooking

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

The glory of gazpacho

Posted on September 16, 2012 by Burnt My Fingers

Gazpacho. It’s the salad that eats like a soup. The solution to a gardener’s late-summer tomato glut. And, when combined with sangria and Bloody Marys, a key component in the perfect liquid diet. Because the tastes and ingredients are familiar, … Continue reading →

Posted in Cooking, Something Else | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

CAB at SPAC: a meaty discovery at the Saratoga Wine and Food Festival

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Burnt My Fingers

The Saratoga Wine & Food Festival, held last weekend, is a lively event where local fun lovers take back the town after the racing crowd departs. There are fashions to view, Ferraris to test drive, and large quantities of food … Continue reading →

Posted in Cooking, Eating, Something Else | Leave a comment

Recipe: Fried Okra

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Burnt My Fingers

If you’re going to fry chicken or fish, might as well fry okra while you’re at it. My fried okra ends up a bit deconstructed because the cornmeal doesn’t stick to the okra about half the time. But the green tidbits … Continue reading →

Posted in Cooking, Recipes, Sides | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Can I reuse pickle juice?

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Burnt My Fingers

After I sliced and served my last Kosher style pickle, I was left with a jar filled with wonderful brine. Rather than just throw it out, I got some more cucumbers from the garden and plunged them into this brine, … Continue reading →

Posted in Cooking, Eating | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Recipe: Easy Kosher Pickles

Posted on August 9, 2012 by Burnt My Fingers

These are darn close to Guss’s Kosher pickles in my opinion. All you need is cucumbers, water, salt, garlic and patience. Ingredients: A pound or more of nice pickling cucumbers Water Kosher salt or another non-iodized salt A handful of garlic … Continue reading →

Posted in Condiments, Cooking, Recipes | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

House brand taste test… cider vinegar!

Posted on May 25, 2012 by Burnt My Fingers

My last batch of sour slaw looked a little off-white and I realized it must be the cider vinegar: I was near the bottom of a jug of Bragg’s Organic, which not only is unfiltered but comes “with the mother” … Continue reading →

Posted in Cooking, Eating, Something Else | Leave a comment

The miracle of cole slaw

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Burnt My Fingers

The classic L’il Abner comic strip had a recurring character called the Schmoo. To quote Wikipedia, “Shmoos are delicious to eat, and are eager to be eaten. If a human looks at one hungrily, it will happily immolate itself—either by … Continue reading →

Posted in Cooking, Eating | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Recipe: Carrot Pickle for Dave Chang

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Burnt My Fingers

I found this carrot pickle recipe on chow.com originally, but it was way too sweet. After adjusting the ingredients I discovered it was the same pickling proportion used by David Chang in the Momofuku cookbook. If you want to mess with … Continue reading →

Posted in Condiments, Cooking, Recipes | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Recipe forensics… revisited

Posted on February 11, 2012 by Burnt My Fingers

A while back, we talked about recipe forensics …. the notion of figuring out the ingredients of a dish by getting inside the head of the person who makes it. Let’s say that person is an ethnic or home cook … Continue reading →

Posted in Cooking, Recipes | Tagged | Leave a comment

House brand taste test… Ketchup!

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Burnt My Fingers

I have a soft spot for store or “house” brands. I’m convinced that they are not made in actual houses, but in the same factories used to produce the national brands*. The difference comes when it’s time to slap on … Continue reading →

Posted in Cooking, Eating | Tagged | Leave a comment