Month: January 2023

Refried Beans - A Classic Mexican Side Dish Refried beans are a traditional Mexican dish made from cooked, mashed pinto beans. The beans are first cooked until tender, then mashed with a masher or food processor, and then fried in a pan with some fat, usually lard or vegetable oil, and sometimes with onions and garlic. The result is a creamy, flavorful bean spread that can be used as a side dish or as a filling for various Mexican dishes such as burritos, tacos, tostadas, and enchiladas. Some variations of refried beans are also flavored with spices, such as cumin, chili powder, or oregano. Refried beans are a staple in Mexican cuisine, and they are also a great source of protein, fiber, and complex carbohydrates. Made with dried beans or with canned beans, there are als...

All About Arborio Rice We cook a lot of risotto in our house, so we always have arborio rice in the pantry for a quick and easy meal. Our girls love eating risotto; they both enjoy making it themselves. Risotto is so versatile. You can make a delicious meal in 30 minutes or less with ingredients in your refrigerator, but it all starts with arborio rice. Arborio rice is short-grain rice commonly used in Italian cuisine, particularly in risotto preparation. It is named after the town of Arborio in the Piedmont region of Italy, where it was first grown. The rice is known for its high starch content, which gives it a creamy texture and makes it ideal for risotto. Arborio rice is a versatile ingredient used in various dishes beyond risotto. One of the most popular dishes is "Ri...

While confined to the Tower of London some 400 long years ago, the English adventurer and Shakespeare contemporary Sir Walter Raleigh wrote: “Whosoever, in writing a modern history, shall follow truth too near the heels, it may happily strike out his teeth.”  It feels a bit like asking for a tooth-kicking to look back at the “artisanal food explosion” era of the early 21st century and attempt to ascribe to it a marked accounting of winners and losers. But when, at last, historians do attempt to reckon with its implications, they may well find a milieu that hews closely to long-documented ideas about generational identity and the arc of trends. In our Marxian quest (W. David, not Karl) for social status and in-group hierarchical tier setting, we ...

All About Olive Oil Olive oil is one of the essential ingredients in my kitchen. I have a variety of versions, including pure, virgin, and extra-virgin, on hand for different cooking purposes and I would like to tell you about each. When I was in Tuscany, Italy, with my family on vacation, I asked people I met about olive oil and I was surprised when I learned most Tuscans had never heard about pure olive oil. They only know extra virgin because there are olive trees everywhere.  If you have a plot of land, you'll likely have olive trees on your property. At harvest time, someone comes by, picks your olives, brings them to one of the few local presses, and produces your olive oil for the year.  Classifications of Olive Oil The acidity level, the method of product...

How Important Is the Maillard Reaction in Cooking? The Maillard reaction is a chemical reaction that occurs when heat is applied to food, causing the food to brown and develop new flavors and aromas. The Maillard reaction is named after Louis-Camille Maillard, a French scientist who first described it in the early 20th century. The Maillard reaction occurs when proteins in the food react with sugars to form new compounds called "Maillard products." These Maillard products give food a characteristic brown color and contribute to its flavor and aroma. The Maillard reaction is what gives bread its golden crust, seared meats their savory flavor, and fried foods their crispy texture. Maillard Reaction Process The Maillard reaction is a complex process that involves many differe...

“To dine” and “to eat” are hardly synonymous verbs. Consumption—ingesting calories, remedying hunger—is pragmatic in nature. Dining, however, sates a different, more poetic genre of appetite. It’s about flavor, pacing, conversation. “When I think about a dinner party, I think about storytelling, theater, and drama,” says DeVonn Francis, the chef and artist behind New York–based food and event production company Yardy World. “How do all these different elements of a meal come together as a set piece? How is the layout going to make you want to engage with it? Eat it? Discuss it afterward?” Francis and his team are what you might call dinner party impresarios. Their Afro-Caribbean menus—featuring dishes like spicy snapper escovitch with carrots an...

What I Learned About Aperol and How to Make a Great Aperol Spritz I had to learn about Aperol and how to make a spritz from my oldest daughter while we were on vacation in Italy in the Tuscany region. But, thinking back, I may have learned a little too much about this addictive concoction of Aperol, Prosecco, and sparkling water. This has been a hot drink with my daughter and her friends for quite a while. Not sure how I missed it, but I"m glad someone finally told me about it and showed me how to make one. Just What Is Aperol Aperol is an Italian aperitif made from a secret blend of herbs, roots, and fruit. It is known for its bright orange color and sweet and bitter flavor. Aperol is often used in cocktails, particularly the popular Aperol Spritz, which is made ...

After a lunch of mulligatawny soup and roast mutton on a wintry New Year’s Day in 1900, Miss Frank E. Buttolph struck upon a novel idea. “I stopped in the Columbia Restaurant for lunch and thought it might be interesting to file a bill of fare at the library,” Buttolph wrote in a letter dated February 14, noting the restaurant that was located in Manhattan’s Union Square. “A week later the thought occurred, why not preserve others?” Buttolph — whose given name was Frances but who preferred to be addressed as Frank — was already an avid collector of postcards with pictures of lighthouses. Preserving menus suited her penchant for collecting unique and colorful ephemera.  Soon after, the idiosyncratic Buttolph petitioned the New York Public Library...