• Uncategorized

    La, la, la, la, la…always Coca-Cola

    I don’t drink much soda. I remember the first time I tried it as a child and telling my mother how much it burned. By the time I was in high school I was completely over it. I will admit that occasionally, I’ll have a swig of carbonation, but it’s not my drink of choice. It’s powerful stuff, so I wasn’t surprised when a friend told me you could use Coke to braise beef. Braising is the process of cooking meat using both wet and dry heat. You sear it first, then cook it in stock or broth that contains an acidic element like tomatoes, beer or wine to help tenderize…

  • Uncategorized

    Roasting, Braising and Stuffing, Oh my!

    These are roasted vegetables. Carrots, onions, broccoli and red potatoes are lightly seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic, then tossed in a bit of olive oil and plucked from the oven after about 20 minutes on 425. These are succulent pieces of chicken breast that have been stuffed, then sliced. We crammed a healthly portion of spinach and asiago cheese inside. The outside we coated with grated parmesan and seared on the stove before finishing them in the oven. These are my signature mashed sweet potatoes and pork tenderloin. They’re good. I mean stop-talking-to-me-while-I-eat-this good. Here it is again from another angle. It’s my go-to entertaining meal. I taught my students how…

  • Food

    Wintery Recipes

    I’ve been hosting cooking classes at my house since the fall. I LOVE it. My next class on Wintery Recipes will be this weekend. About six students come over for a couple hours of merriment, instruction and practice. But the best part is when we sit down and eat it all up. At this point the invitations are pretty exclusive, since I only have so much room in my kitchen. Not to mention, the classes are in my home so only friends and friends of friends are priviledged to join us. But soon I’ll have my personal chef certification and be able to host classes in a more public forum. Stay tuned.…