Author Archive

Lamb seems like a luxurious meat to work with, and there can be the whole fear-of-the-unknown complex with it. This gets interesting from a healthy cooking standpoint: there's not only the uncertainty with cooking with a new ingredient, there's also the fear of "oh God, will this new ingredient make me fat again?" Don't fall...
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Lord knows we Southerners haven't met a vegetable we can't throw a ham hock in. Well, both from a foodie and a weight loss perspective, that's a problem. A standard cooking concept is "if it doesn't benefit the dish's flavor or texture, it shouldn't be in there" -- in which case, you don't even...
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Today's recipe demonstrates two beautiful interesting health food tricks -- using traditional "problem foods" as a garnish and using leftover vegetables to add and guide flavor. Lest we forget these polenta cakes are nothing short of amazing?
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Things like nutrient density and fat/carb/calorie statistics are important; but it's also the same old things everyone discusses in the same old way. There's another consideration: literally finding a a new frame of reference for food. Cooking food that bears no resemblance to the emotional eating favorites of yesteryear helps accomplish that, elegantly and...
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How many times have you heard someone exclaim, with a sigh, "one person making it bad for everyone else?" Logically, it makes no sense that the exception becomes the rule. It's even more absurd when you realize it applies just as much to cooking methods like adding a crust to protein. One of the...
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Kevin and Russ laid down the foundation for our approach to cooking for the past six months -- now it's time to really cut loose with the dish that started it all: chocolate and sea salt bruschetta. "Well Lord, you don't see that everyday," Russ thought as he sat in on a cooking class Kevin...
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Though Paella is normally the go-to dish when folks imagine Spanish cooking, Romesco Sauce deserves consideration, too. Serious consideration, actually. This crimson puree of peppers, nuts and spices packs and earthy depth and number of subtleties – a bit of sherry, a sweet heat, the richness of nuts sufficient to make you not miss butter...
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Today’s recipe for Grilled Romaine with Fig-Sherry Molasses is devilishly simple and wickedly clever, packing enough tricks to create countless deviations and new recipes for you in the fading summer months. But at its core, this salad – itself a twist on a the classic salad of iceberg, tomato and onion wedges dunked blue cheese...
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This is one example of the myriad of uses for dried fruit – not just raisins, but prunes, berries, and of course apricots. Dried fruit can be a quick addition to a sandwich or salad, or part of a pan sauce, vinaigrette, baked dish (apricot chicken, anyone?) or dip. And with the intensity they’re given...
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Which brings us to this week’s recipe, a Peach Basil vinaigrette. The inherent sweetness of peaches (and just in case they aren’t, a small dollop of honey can stand in), the sweet-licorice bite of fresh basil and cinnamon’s earthiness form a dance of sorts, a game of catch between flavors. Each element compares and...
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