Unless you have some pyrolized banana liquor sitting around next to the rum, this is a drink that takes a bit of time from start to finish. About 30 days or so to be exact. What is pyrolized banana exactly? Well, if you’ve ever tried black garlic or cooked with it, you have had pyrolized…… Continue reading Aviary Cocktail: Perfect Storm
This one is not going to win any beauty contests, that’s for sure but it is a delicious and very emblematic of many Lebanese home-style stews that I grew up eating. Funny enough this one, really any okra based dish, was never my favorite when I was a kid. Yet, now, along with eggplant okra…… Continue reading Lebanese Okra and Beef Stew
Combining grilling over charcoal with sous-vide precision cooking is the ultimate best-of-both-worlds approach. This is especially true for cuts of beef that are a little tricky to get right like the tri-tip. It has an uneven shape and thickness, it can also come out tough or dry if not cooked and sliced right. In this…… Continue reading Grilled Sous-Vide Tri-tip, Kale Salad, Double Baked Potatoes
We avoid burning things in most of cooking. It produces acrid, bitter and unpleasant textures. Yet, for some things, under certain circumstances “burnt” is good, very good. Heating sugar to just the point of smoking makes for amazing caramel. Those leopard dark spots on Neapolitan pizza give it a wonderful taste and texture. I do…… Continue reading Burnt Eggplant Salad
Confit has to be one of the most reward to effort ratio meat preparations that exist. Salt and season, cook gently in fat, store, reheat and eat. That’s it. In these cooler months it is a comforting, relaxing and delicious preparation. No, there is not that much more to it. Pork confit is what I…… Continue reading Confit de Porc
This method is primitive, technology free, counter-intuitive and yet produces an amazing hunk of beef. It is also just so elemental and fun to get a piece of meat and throw it on hot coals. I have no idea if that’s how our ancestors cooked their Aurochs beef steak but I’d like to imagine they…… Continue reading Steak Cooked Directly on the Coals
Tapioca pudding is so often looked down on I think. Not sure why. Many think of it as that goopy thing that comes out of a box and old people eat it in nursing homes. When made right though using tapioca pearls, dairy and sugar it is delightful. It has great snappy texture and just…… Continue reading Tapioca Coconut Pudding, Mango Sorbet and Brittle
I am doing a lot of cooking these days as usual, it is just getting tougher to bring up the energy to post a lot. Still cooking and baking is one of the few mind relaxing activities in these times of home quarantine and COVID! This potato “cake” is a relaxing repetitive activity that makes…… Continue reading Duck Fat Potato Cake
Oven Dried Tomatoes 