A passion for food

"Madame" has been after me to share what we do in the kitchen, so here goes! I have a passion for preparing and serving great food. I have a goal of getting a great meal on the table every evening in around 45 minutes - the time it takes when I get the phone call that "Madame" is leaving work until the time we eat. I look for fresh ingredients - in season, supplemented with herbs, peppers, and very occasional tomatoes from the garden.

Friday, November 29, 2013

The Kombucha Files

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David Gilbert introduced me to kombucha a while back. It took me a while to get comfortable with the idea - and importantly to introduce it...
Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Seasoning meat

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This is really just a technique post. It has always bothered me that we season (and occasionally spice) the meat that we are going to put i...
Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Mac and Cheese

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This Macaroni and Cheese dish was made for Madame's faculty party and the students working the TV station. It seemed to go down quite w...
Monday, August 19, 2013

Thom Yum (Chicken)

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I was given a copy of Chef McDang's terrific book on Thai cookery ( http://www.amazon.com/Principles-Thai-Cookery-Chef-McDang/dp/616906...
Saturday, August 10, 2013

Caesar Salad - Kind Of

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I wanted to make an elegant looking, but somewhat deconstructed Caesar salad for a fancy party at hour house. We were saying thank you to a...

Blueberry Semifreddo

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This recipe is adapted from one that I saw in Fine Cooking Magazine. I have made it a couple of times and it is absolutely delicious. It is...
Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Clams with Linguine

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We were on vacation in England. Renting an apartment which meant that I didn't have all of my usual cooking toys, the ovens were calibr...
Thursday, June 13, 2013

Should I use a knife or a fork?

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Years ago I heard the following story. I hope it was true, ... A newly minted doctor. was practising his patter at a London hospital. He ...
Thursday, June 6, 2013

Two ways with the same chicken

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I have a "proper job" now - meaning that I don't work from my home office everyday. The commute time cuts into my cooking tim...
Sunday, February 24, 2013

OTBN 2013 - aka parsley is a vegetable

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Feb 23, 2013 was another round of "Open That Bottle Night". OTBN was started by a couple of WSJ wine writers. It is always the la...

Duck with mushroom, wine sauce and walnuts and crispy skin

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I needed a dish in quite tricky circumstances. It needed to pair with a 1996 Chateau de Pommard Burgundy. It needed to be held warm while o...

croque monsieur Toasted Cheese like never before (unless you are French, of course)

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First make the brioche! I use this recipe and it is flawless, so wont't repeat it here. Allow the brioche to stale overnight before pr...
1 comment:
Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Poached egg ravioli

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Madame was on a trip and whenever she is away, it seems that I dig into the egg files for another way of using them. This time was no excep...
2 comments:
Saturday, December 15, 2012

Soft boiled eggs - genius from Americas test Kitchen

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It has always been a crapshoot cooking eggs in their shells - to a soft cooked stage. Getting the whites nice and firm and leaving the yolk...
3 comments:
Monday, December 3, 2012

A visit to the BGE nursery

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I was working on a project near Decatur, GA last week. One of my coworkers, knowing of my interest in cooking and Big Green Eggs, directed ...
Saturday, November 24, 2012

Thanksgiving 2012

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Thanksgiving 2012 was to be an adventure. A close friend wanted to do the "grand opening" of her newly redecorated dining room. L...
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Thanksgiving - sweet potatoes

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Where would thanksgiving be without sweet potatoes? But I am not wild and exceted about overly sweetened, overly flavored sweet potatoes. I...

Thanksgiving - green beans

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Easy green beans without a lot of glop! Wanted to make sure we had something of a different color to put on the plate. Everything was from ...

Butternut squash soup

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This was the first sit down course at Thangsgiving 2012. It is my go to soup when I want something silky and elegant, with the slight possi...

Cinnamon Croutons

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We made these especially to go with butternut squash, but they are so tasty, they might be worth having around as a snack anyway. Fortunate...
Friday, November 23, 2012

Thanksgiving - Roasted Potatoes

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My sister, Alison, is the "roast potato queen." She does them better than anyone I know, but I think I may be catching up! Certai...

Thanksgiving - Wild mushroom and pecan dressing

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For Thanksgiving 2012, we made a cornbread/wild mushroom/pecan dressing. Tarted up with bits of turkey unmentionables. It was pretty popula...

Turkey

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In many ways the turkey is the easy part of thanksgiving provided a few basics are adhered to. I have tried just about every metho...
Thursday, November 1, 2012

Casserole or Gratin

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Whether you call a dish a casserole or a gratin may rather depend on whether you like it or not. Needless to say there is some history aro...
Friday, October 26, 2012

Fall Salad on North Texas Now

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Madame's students asked if I would do a guest segment on the North Texas Now television show that they produce. It seemed like a go...
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Chris Bird
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