Though mushrooms grow throughout the year, they are widely regarded as seasonally fall (except morels, which are the best part of the spring!). White button and cremini mushrooms (often called baby bellas) are the old stand-by. They are inexpensive, sturdy, and neutral in flavor. But as much as we love […]
What I’m Cooking: Herb-Rubbed Roasted Pork
This recipe is really more about the rub than the roast, since it’s all-purpose and surprisingly versatile. Inspired by the seasoning typically used in porchetta, this rub is incredibly flavorful on its own, but a chameleon when paired with virtually any ingredient. Meaning you can eat a dish like this […]
How to: Roast Vegetables without a Recipe
As we ease into autumn, we can finally celebrate the return of roasting—especially vegetables. We love roasting because it is one of the most delicious ways to enjoy seasonal fall produce, like hard-skinned squash, cauliflower, fennel, and Brussels sprouts (color = flavor), as well as incredibly easy and hands-off. Even […]
Purchasing Shrimp
Shrimp is an easy-to-cook protein, not to mention delicious (shrimp cocktail will never go out of style), but can be sort of confusing to pick out. So many sizes and names, not to mention the choice between farm-raised and wild-caught. Keep reading for a quick refresher on the must-knows for […]
Simple Syrup
Keeping a jar of simple syrup in your pantry may seem like a waste of space, but once you have it, you’ll reach for it more than you think. And sure, you can buy a bottle of prepared simple syrup for many dollars, but it’s sort of absurdly easy and […]
From the Garden: Basil Vinaigrette
I absolutely cannot keep a plant alive. Not even the easy ones, like aloe, even though I really try. The only plant that survives my path of destruction is basil, which is really a yearly tale of resilience. Now it’s mid-August, and for those of us who don’t know how […]
What I’m Cooking: Lemon Baked Pasta with Broccoli Rabe
I haven’t always embraced my Italian-American identity. That’s not to say I’m not proudly Italian-American, or that I’m somehow ashamed of my Italian ancestry. It was more the Jersey Shore Italian-American stereotype that sort of haunted me, even before MTV entered the conversation. On campus at The Culinary Institute of […]
All About Tofu
Tofu, also called bean curd, is made by coagulating (or curdling) soy milk before pressing it into semi-firm blocks. The process, similar to that of cheesemaking, results in tofu of various textures, ranging from scoopable to sliceable, all useful in different kitchen applications, both sweet and savory. Tofu is very […]
Make Creamy Salad Dressings without a Recipe
As salad dressings go, oil and vinegar—their cute couple name is Vinaigrette—are sort of the popular kids. Everyone likes them, they get along with anyone/salad, and here’s where this metaphor falls apart: you don’t need a recipe. But sometimes a salad and/or your brain are just begging for a creamy […]
New Video: Perfect Fried Eggs
Sometimes the classic, tried-and-true way just doesn’t work for you. For me, I was always hung up on the perfect fried egg. Sunny-side-up, runny yolk with a little bit of texture, crisp underneath, and set–not runny–whites. I knew the tricks. After all, I did learn from the best at the […]
What I’m Cooking: Grilled Veggie Bowl with Adobo Chickpeas
This dish was inspired by a week of too much takeout and not eating enough vegetables. The chickpeas are dressed with a creamy blend of avocado, chipotle in adobo (look for the cans near the salsas and taco accoutrement at any grocery store), garlic, and sherry vinegar, and they will […]
Heirloom Recipes from the CIA
You can cook a lot of food in more than 70 years, and here at The Culinary Institute of America, we’ve created some tasty dishes, if we do say so ourselves. Whether they were imagined right here on our campus or inspired by some of our favorite old-world classics, there […]