Category Archives: We’re Cooking

Cooking is the heart of hearth and home. And many of the best things we eat are the simplest things we cook. Let’s share some recipes!

Montreal (style) Bagels

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2016-08-13 18.15.47After years of holding bagel making classes, featuring New York style bagels we were asked, “What about Montreal style bagels?  Can you make those too?”  (We have a post about the difference between them.)

Research and luck came into play.  There are two classic Montreal bagel bakeries, Fairmount and St. Viateur Bagel. Each has their devoted fans. St. Viateur has shared their recipe, probably on the theory that it takes more than a recipe to make a Montreal bagel, and sharing the recipe will make people happy and bring them into the bakery to try the real deal. Paul of Hearthstone Artisan Bakery in turn shared their recipe with me. Continue reading →

Pasta With Roe, A Recipe Inspired by a Dish at Keii Chi

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And, now for something completely different.

We recently went to Keii Chi, with the Dallas Eclectic Foodies meetup.  Many people say Keii Chi is one of the best Sushi restaurants in the state, if not the country.  A former reviewer from the Dallas Morning News commented, “Finally, a reason to go to Denton”.

We had omakase which is a one word Japanese phrase that means “I’ll leave it to you” (from Japanese “to entrust”).  It may also mean, “I’m on an expense account.”  We had 7 or 8 courses, each better than the last.  Rodney, the guy who arranged the dinner, told the owner, “Can you make the pasta with roe?  You made it last time I was here, and I’ve been dreaming of it ever since!”  The owner is a good sport, thought a second and smiled.  He asked, “for everyone?”  Heck yeah! Continue reading →

Steak house flop?

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On a recent episode of “Suits”, two of the main characters went to a steak house.  Lewis Lit was trying to get a younger lawyer, Mike Ross, to become enthusiastic about a case that could save the steak house, which was Lewis’ favorite.  Mike cut into the steak and hadn’t had more than a few seconds to chew when Lewis said, “What do you think Mike?”

Mike replied, “There’s no doubt about it Lewis, this is the best steak I’ve ever had!”

Lewis seemed almost annoyed, “No Mike, this isn’t the best steak you’ve EVER had, this is the best steak you WILL EVER have!”
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Fettucine Alfredo, revisited

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Fettuccine Alfredo two ways, good and right

Last week, in a still unnamed restaurant, I had some of the most ghastly Fettuccine Alfredo I’ve ever had the misfortune to encounter.  Was it straight off the food service truck?  Was the cook just clueless? Does it matter?  One reason I haven’t named the restaurant is that I just can’t believe they’ll be there much longer.  However, they do seem to be doing a lively business in “to go” pizzas.  Maybe I’ll try one.  Or not.

Anyway, this weekend, I just felt like I needed to make some GOOD Fettuccine Alfredo.    I knew I could make better than those jokers, if only because I have made better, repeatedly.  So, to clear my memories of that ghastly Alfredo, I decided to make two Fettuccine Alfredos.  C’mon along for the ride!

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Battle Rosemary

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I suddenly realized I was standing in this large kitchen and some Asian dude was standing in front of me, opening a large display case and screaming, “And the final ingredient in today’s battle is ROSEMARY!”  And there, in the case were a few dozen 6 to 8 inch long branches of rosemary.  Lovely.  Fragrant.  Delightful.  And I had an hour to prepare four dishes that highlighted rosemary.

Across from me was some imposing person I’d never heard of before.  Cat Flayer or something like that.

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What IS Barbeque?

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At times, I think we should have a separate category for barbeque.  It’s just such a wonderful food.  Sadly, the word has been so widely used and abused that it really isn’t terribly descriptive.

To me, barbeque is not a social event, it is not cooking food by exposing it to high and direct heat.  One is a party, the other is grilling.  I like both.  Really. Continue reading →

Hints for Food Bloggers, 2

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As we try to move from being small fry to wok stars, we’re learning.  This is another picture from our (unpublished) piece on National Peach Cobbler Day. 

The bit hint for food bloggers here is, take the picture when the food looks its best.  Fresh from the oven, this had a great golden brown crust.  Cutting out a piece would have revealed a rich creamy-peachy filling.  Now, well, it’s past its prime.

Hints for Food Bloggers, 1

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We’re really not there yet, but we’re learning.  And as we learn more about what we’re doing, we’ll share the tips and tricks that separate the big woks from the small fry (like us).

The first hint is pretty straight forward, but we have a number of cool posts we’d love to share but we didn’t follow this hint.

“Take the pictures before the food is gone.”  I guess we won’t be doing our piece on this year’s National Peach Cobbler Day after all.  Maybe next year!

Some of our would-be posts have pictures of 4 courses out of the 5 we were server.  Or 6.  Or 7.  Like the Lockhart Smokehouse’s “Snout to Tail” pig-out dinner.  Or some of the really rocking special dinners Chef Chad Kelley put together when he was at the Meddlesome Moth.  Maybe not taking pictures should have been something we gave up for Lent!

A Culinary Pilgrimage

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It’s odd how strands of ones life come together.  The other day Scott Heimendinger, the The Bon Ton Cafe's Crab au Gratin, one of the first pics taken with my cell phone cameraSeattle Food Geek, tweeted “Every time someone says ‘American cheese’ and they aren’t referring to the entire set of cheeses made in the US, I die a little inside.”

Wow.  Really?  Where’s that coming from? Scott has one of the most delightfully tweaky and geeky food blogs out there.

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