IN THE FALL, THE OVEN IS ALWAYS THERE
There’s something really, really nice about cranking the oven up when the temperatures start to dip into a fall disposition. And to my mind, there’s no better use of an oven in fall than roasting. I realize as I’m writing this that most of the country has been in fall for months and is now ...
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CHARCUTEPALOOZA CHALLENGE #10: PIECE OF MASTERFUL CRAFT OR THE GREATEST PRACTICAL JOKE OF THE 16TH CENTURY INVOLVING A CHICKEN?
If there’s one thing that I know to be true, it’s that the Italians taught the French how to cook. It’s true, just ask any Italian. When Caterina de’ Medici married Henry II, she departed Italy with her best cooks and delivered the gift of Florentine cuisine to the heretofore uninitiated. But ...
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IF I GET DRUNK AND EAT A WHOLE MEAT PIE, IT’S A FAMILY TRADITION
This month Charcutepalooza brought a choice: pate or meat pie. I have a little bit of history with both. In the case of pate, it’s a history I would rather forget. I have a spectacular ability to completely screw it up. Chicken liver, duck liver, doesn’t matter. My pates tend to end up somewhere ...
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IT’S NOT A MEAL, IT’S A COMMENTARY ON YOUR FAMILY HISTORY
I’ve mentioned “Any asshole knows…” a time or two before. It was one of my Grandfather’s favorite chestnuts, usually followed by “you don’t [insert whatever stupid or wrong act someone committed here].” The point being that even an asshole, or someone lacking in intelligence, knows ...
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QUITE POSSIBLY THE MOST AMERICAN OF ALL ITALIAN DESSERTS
I think a certain part of me must want to weigh 300lbs by the end of summer. I think this because I have been like a bearded Hoover vacuum, consuming anything that resembles a frozen novelty with a ferocity of a wolf. A wolf that really, really likes ice cream. This somewhat undesirable behavior ...
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IF LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS, BE HAPPY FOR WHAT YOU’VE GOT. INGRATE
It’s been hot. Really hot. Record shattering, make you mad hot. I guess that’s what one should expect during a Texas summer, but this year feels a little extreme. Like, dustbowl hot. Because of this, my mind has turned to cooling refreshment more and more. And while cooling refreshment can easily ...
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CHARCUTEPALOOZA CHALLENGE #8: SOMEWHERE, BECAUSE OF ME, THERE’S A PIG WALKING AROUND WITH A PEG LEG
I like pig’s feet. I eat pig’s feet. I have never made pig’s feet. Now that I have, I may no longer like pig’s feet. I was excited about the idea of making a terrine out of pig trotters for Charcutepalooza for this month’s challenge. I called a great local farm to table place in Houston to ...
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