Author: CuisineWriter
The Importance of Poise at theTable
Photo by Andrew Bardwell “But as for Queequeg — why, Queequeg sat there among them — at the head of the table, too, it so chanced; as cool as an icicle. To be sure I cannot say much for his breeding. His greatest admirer could not have cordially justified his bringing his harpoon into breakfast […]
Chef Eberhard Muller – Lutèce (NYC)
Photo by WNYC When he took over as Executive Chef of Lutèce, Eberhard Muller was in an enviably uncomfortable position — how to retain the aura of Andre Soltner’s famous restaurant while concurrently incorporating his own personality. Muller admitted that following Soltner’s legend was an uphill battle. Devoted customers expected to find their Lutèce unchanged, […]
Achiote and Annatto and what Sprouts from the Seed
Photo by Bill Gracey The small yet seemingly impenetrable achiote seed, which is often commonly named the annatto seed, is available worldwide both as a whole seed and in ground form. It is a highly-regarded ingredient in both Hispanic and Indian cuisine for its subtle bitter and earthy flavors along with its gorgeous burnished copper […]
Alfred Portale
The relationship between form and content is one that artists working in every medium must come to terms with, and cooking is no exception. Alfred Portale, once a jewelry designer, now an American uber-chef, completely revolutionized modern food presentation when he built a lettuce salad that literally towered above the rest. With each verdant leaf […]
The Wide World of Chiles
Chilli Pepper Photo by pixel2013 You could not count the number of chiles — fresh and dried, pickled and ground — that greet you when you enter a Mexican market center. The chile is ancient — evidence in Mexico traces it back to 3500 BCE. In the 16th century, the Portuguese explorers brought these fiery […]
Foods You Can Eat with Your Fingers
Photo by Kelly Hau Artichoke The artichoke is actually the leaf-enclosed flower bud of a plant that is in the thistle family. It is usually served steamed with a dipping sauce. To eat it, pull a leaf off, dip it, scrape the flesh from the base of the leaf with your top teeth, and discard […]
On the Best Foie Gras
Photo by acme “We grade all foie gras in three groups,” said M. Barbuer. “Extra are the best one. They go into whole blocks of foie gras naturel, the finest, most expensive variety. People in your country always confuse it with Pâté de Foie Gras and Crème de Foie Gras, for which we sometimes use the […]
Frederik Henry Harvey
The Harvey House Concept Frederick Henry Harvey was appalled by the conditions travelers endured in the United States as compared to his home country, England, where there was a long tradition of hospitality on the roads. So, he developed a restaurant that would provide a respectable, comfortable place for travelers to enjoy their meals, and […]
French Cuisine
Despite a common pan-gallic chauvinism, French cooking is not a monolith: it ranges from the olives and seafood of Provence to the butter and roasts of Tours, from the simple food of the bistro to the fanciful confections of the Tour d’Argent. However, it all shares a seriousness about food. Throughout the country, French cooking […]
The Very Basics of French Sauces
Photo by jules:stonesoup Sauces are, of course, a crucial element of French cuisine, and the French cook can recreate the canon of sauces from a limited set of techniques and ingredients. Here’s a quick run down of some very basic sauce-stuff: Basic French Sauce Descriptions Béarnaise: A relative of hollandaise, béarnaise is a reduction of […]