Author: CuisineWriter
The Secret of the Formal Place Setting
Photo by Burak K When sitting down to a formal dinner, there is one thing people fear more than anything else. Is it spilling soup down the front of their pants? Loudly burping during dinner? Well, yes, people fear those things, too. However, most people would agree that choosing the right eating utensil for the right […]
Semolina
Semolina is coarsely ground durum wheat, a highly glutinous (hard) wheat. When other grains, such as rice or corn, are similarly ground, they are referred to as “semolina,” i.e., “corn semolina” or “rice semolina.”
Rice
Rice, the main source of sustenance for half of the world’s population, comes in an endless variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Rice grains can be long, like those of basmati rice from India and jasmine rice from Thailand; tiny, like mochi-gome from Japan, which is similar in shape to Italian arborio rice; or somewhere […]
Pasta
Homemade vs. Store Bought Though a complete list of pasta shapes could take up volumes, there are two basic types available: factory-made, dried macaroni pasta made with flour and water, and homemade “fresh” pasta, made with eggs and flour. The two have different consistencies, textures and uses. They are truly separate and truly equal. Factory-made […]
Mole
Photo by Edsel Little The justly famous mole is a complex sauce made from toasted seeds, soaked and puréed chiles, ground raisins, spices, herbs, and a bit of semi-sweet chocolate. Throughout Mexico, the chocolate, seeds, and chiles remain constants, but their types and the rest of the ingredients fluctuate wildly according to the cook. Oaxacan […]
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 […]
Mediterranean Cuisine
Photo by lukasbieri Flavors of the Mediterranean The Mediterranean is the deep, blue heart that gives life to the countries that surround her. To speak of “Mediterranean Cooking” — to make one language describe the couscous and dried fruit of Morocco, an Egyptian breakfast of ful, cool yogurt soup from Syria, Greek octopus salads, Italian […]
Lemongrass
Photo by odonata98 (Kimberly Reinhart) This herb, which is native to Malaysia and grown throughout Southeast Asia and California, is one of the most important in Southeast Asian cooking. With the great popularity of the food of that region, lemon grass has made its way onto countless ingredients lists for all sorts of dishes. It has […]
Olive Oil
Olive groves line the rocky hillsides of Italy and the Mediterranean coast. For millennia, the region has produced gorgeous olives (they were a favorite street snack in ancient Rome) and olive oils (tools for making olive oil that date back 4500 years have been found in Crete). The average age of southern Italian olive trees […]
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 […]