A Basic Saucemaker’s Skill: Making A Roux

Before I ever went to culinary school, I knew how to make a roux.
I didn’t learn it at my mother’s knee, or at my grandmother’s stove; rather I learned it from Julia Child, but I learned it, and learned it well, nonetheless, such that folks always wondered why my gravies, pan sauces and stews […]

Where Do Picky Kids Come From? It May Be in the Genes…Or, Not

I read this article in the New York Times last night, and I thought it was interesting. Apparently, a research team, led by Dr. Lucy Cook, an epidemiologist at University College in London, has determined that most children who are picky eaters come by their neophobia (fear of new foods) honestly: through their genes. Apparently, […]

Pork and Apple Enchiladas Verde Casserole

Apples are gloriously in season this month; at our farmers market, a double handful of varieties are currently available, including two of my favorites, MacIntosh and Jonathan. MacIntosh apples, in fact, were the first apples I introduced Zak to in order to convince him that he really liked apples. He was convinced for years that […]

Cowboy’s Pie–A Tex-Mex Take on a British Classic

I made an offhanded comment in my last post about how the chipotle-chevre mashed potatoes would make an excellent topping for a Tex-Mex version of the British standard casserole Shepherd’s Pie. The more I thought about it, the better of an idea it became. And I did have a goodly bit of mashed potatoes left […]

Saturday Dinner: Sort-Of, But Not Quite Pork Chops, Applesauce and Mashed Potatoes

I didn’t really know what to call this post, really, because the dinner came out of improvisation on the theme of a many a childhood dinner in West Virginia: pan-fried pork chops served with applesauce on the side, with mashed potatoes and some sort of green vegetable (usually cooked from a vibrant verdant beauty into […]