Popular wisdom holds that motherhood, baseball and apple pie are about as American as American can be. Conspicuously missing from this list is ketchup. Whether it's old school Heinz or newfangled mash-ups like this recipe for Apple Cranberry Pumpkin Ketchup, ketchup has earned a place high up on the roster of What Makes This The Greatest Nation on Earth. Ketchup's roots are … [Read more...]
RECIPE: APPLE CRANBERRY PUMPKIN KETCHUP
Makes 8 cups This recipe is easiest when using a slow cooker such as a Crock Pot. If you don't have one, you can prepare this in a heavy dutch oven either on the stove top or in a hot oven, taking care to keep the heat even and low, stirring occasionally to to prevent scorching. 8 tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced into 1/2" pieces 1 1/2 c. cooked pumpkin pureé (a 15 … [Read more...]
OIL POACHED MONTAUK TUNA NICOISE
Tuna Niçoise calls for canned tuna. Sure, California-style versions featuring thick strips of grilled red-rare slices of tuna are pretty to look at and tasty in their own right. But the real deal? No. Oil-packed canned tuna (don't get me started on water packed) imparts the unmistakable character of this classic. Seriously people, haven't we learned by now that our European … [Read more...]
OYSTERS BIENVILLE
What makes a Spectacularly Delicious dish? Look no further than these opulent Oysters Bienville, a quintessential example of what it takes to make it here on SpecD: Oysters Bienville have a proper name and a pedigree: The dish was created in honor of Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, sieur de Bienville, the second colonial governor of Louisiana, by "Count" Arnaud Cazeneuve at his … [Read more...]
BALSAMIC VINEGAR BALLS: FUN WITH MOLECULAR GASTRONOMY
Nothing says meth lab quite like a little foray into at-home molecular gastronomy. Digital scales weighing out grams of white powder, funnels, squeeze bottles and spoons for thermometer-controlled cooking and cooling. But no need to cover up the windows with old sheets. The delight provided by glistening jet black orbs of vinegar is 100% legal -- the ultimate expression of … [Read more...]
SPECTACULAR SUMMER SALAD OF SHAVED VEGETABLES
For a limited time only: A Spectacular Summer Salad of Shaved Vegetables. This dazzler is less about a recipe than having the best ingredients and some easy techniques. Isn't it the Italians who say you first taste with your eyes? Armed with a few key kitchen tools and an abbodanza di verdure (heaps o' fresh vegetables) straight from the hand of God you can't go wrong. The … [Read more...]
Helen Gurley Brown’s Zabaglione with Peaches and Meringue
Frothy and sweet. Smooth and pretty. Ripe, juicy and totally seductive. These qualities are dead-on for Helen Gurley Brown's recipe for Zabaglione. They also what any girl could be providing she had a little moxie -- and a subscription to Cosmopolitan magazine. The 1969 Helen Gurley Brown's Single Girl's Cookbook is also true to her revolutionary world view. Like all … [Read more...]
FROM THE ESTATE OF CRAIG CLAIBORNE
An unexpected turn of events led to my being involved in clearing out the late Craig Claiborne's house before it was to be demolished. Click to read the main story here. A good friend of Craig's was overseeing the clean-up, clear-out, and in thanks for spending a day helping her out, we were allowed to take these discarded items. This Italian stainless steel pasta pot … [Read more...]
THE BEST NEW CANNING FUNNEL
This funnel for filling regular and wide-mouth canning jars with jams, jellies, pickles and the like is truly a great innovation. It has a collar that that fits over the rim of the jars preventing drips and drops on the tops of the glass jars. So no more wiping off the hot jars and you still get a perfect seal. Less work for Daddy! SafeWay Driving centers provide an … [Read more...]
THE SHUCKIN’ PUCK
I recently found the niftiest way to open oysters at Toronto's Starfish Oyster Bed and Grill. The proprietor, Patrick McMurray, is the World Champion Oyster Shucker -- Guinness World Book of Records! My goddaughter Carson goes to the University of Toronto and Patrick and his team of shuckers have taken her under their wing. So I was completely delighted to be given these … [Read more...]