A few months ago I was wandering the poultry aisle at my food coop looking at the bewildering number of options for a roasting chicken. As the words free-range and humane--proclaimed on every package--began to lose their meaning, I came across a pile of frozen, gangly-looking birds with their long necks still intact. The label, announcing this new product, read “Amish stewing hens.€..
I’ve already done my public fawning over Thomas Keller’s cookbooks. The absurd attention to details, the flowery short essays about “the importance of onion soup” in the philosophy of bistro cooking, the potential of preparing-ahead the “building blocks” of cooking (like soffrito and aioli ) that allow you to continue preparing uncomplicated dishes with simple, inspired combin...
Happy New Year! Those are the first words we've written in a long time here at the Paupered Chef because for all the holiday spirit, the roasts, the wine, and the interesting family rituals we could have informed you about, we decided to be lazy. Unlike successful people, we took the break for exactly what it was, and waited until our respective families fed us until we couldn't stomach an...
I never have any idea what to put in a salad. I know this much: make your own dressing, that's a given. Mushrooms are a good bet, as they soak up all the flavor and end up being remarkably delicious. Leaves: yes. Good oilve oil and vinegar (or lemon / lime juice). Salt, fresh pepper. Avocado if you feel fancy. Raw onions, just a bit, taste sweet when combined in with the vinegar....