• Last updated 4/7/10 by cardinalgill

This article was created and edited by devoted ChefTalk user Bonbini - thanks! Last time I talked a bit about getting to know your camera. Here's the link  www.cheftalk.com/wiki/how-to-create-better-food-photographs if you haven't read it yet. The next step is to understand the basics and explore a few techniques. Understand the basics and techniques My approach to food photography is very simple. I tend to get my shots as quickly as possible so that I can enjoy the food I made. Understanding the basics, like how to light the food and set up the shot properly helps me... read more

• Last updated 4/1/10 by Pete

The world over, Spring is a magically time. A time of rebirth and renewal, a time for us to shake off the Winter blues and to look forward to the warm days ahead. For chefs and foodies it is an even more magical time. The first delicate vegetables of the season, such as peas, asparagus, fava beans, and spinach start to show in the local markets, and we get excited as thoughts of the local bounty that will soon be plentiful again. In the northern US, most of the spring crops don’t come to market until, at least, late April or early May, unless they have been grown in... read more

• Last updated 3/19/10 by BenRias

By: Ruben Urias   It’s all about the tortilla!  Whether you are munching on the tiniest of palm sized corn tortillas for tacos al carbon, or a giant sobaquera or sonorencia for a tasty burrito, the ever versatile Mexican tortilla has penetrated the menus of restaurants and homes alike.  In fact, it has gained such popularity in America and elsewhere that even fast food giants—for better or for worse—have embraced its utility.    However, despite their wide-spread use and popularity, many people have never tasted a fresh made tortilla.  Sadly, their tortilla... read more

• Last updated 3/13/10 by gonefishin

Pasta Fagioli   Cranberry beans (borlotti beans) - cleaned and soaked over night    (or two cans rinsed cannellini beans)   4oz thick cut pancetta diced medium and browned in pan with olive oil   Add 1 chopped onion and 1 chopped celery, cook until softened   add couple of garlic cloves sliced fine, 2 tbl oregano, red pepper flakes and some anchovies (or a bit of paste), cook.   if I'm using canned beans I'll sometimes add some ground beef that was cooked/drained in a separate skillet at this stage.  (The real beans, that have soaked overnight, really seem to stand up... read more

• Last updated 3/8/10 by Nicko

Some time in early fall, I decided my long-term goal would be to open my deli. I grew up on deli food and miss it so - the soft, seeded-rye; stinky chopped chicken livers; the dew on the windows from the corned beefs… corning; the grease-glazed knishes; mountains of yellow potato salad. Delaware is not a haven for such gastronomical delights beyond chicken 'n dumplings and steamed crabs. My very indiscriminate love of good food was born of my experience with really good deli food. So, in seven years, I want to open a deli. I have never been good with the more subtle... read more

• Last updated 3/8/10 by Nicko

Written By Chef Peter Martin Fried chicken is nothing new.  Many cultures, around the world, have been cooking chickens by breading and frying them for centuries, but it is in the southern United States where frying chicken has been elevated to an art form.  It is believed that the Scots made this style, of cooking chicken, popular when they immigrated to the US and settled in the southern states.  It remained a staple of southern cuisine for many years but it wasn't until the latter part of the 19th century that cookbooks from other regions of the US started... read more

• Last updated 3/8/10 by Nicko

Written By Chef Peter Martin In Part I of this series on food thickeners we looked at a variety of different items that can be used for thickening.  In this part we will be focusing exclusively on flour, as a thickener, as that is what most people turn to when something needs thickening.  As stated in Part I, flour is not the thickener of choice for everything.  Fruit sauces, clear soups, certain meat glazes, and many pie fillings are just a few examples of items that do not do well being thickened with flour.  On the other hand gravies, many sauces and a whole variety... read more

• Last updated 3/8/10 by Nicko

Written By Chef Peter Martin Let's face facts; we have all had our fair share of kitchen disasters, even us “professionals”, though we might not admit it.  From food being too salty, to scorched soups, to broken hollandaise, disasters do, and will, happen.  The good news is that many of these so-called “disasters” can be fixed relatively easily, with only a few that are beyond salvaging.  Below is a list of some of the most common kitchen disasters and how to fix them. Too Salty From thinking the recipe said tablespoons instead of teaspoons, to being distracted and... read more

• Last updated 3/8/10 by Nicko

Written By Chef Peter Martin Cobblers, Crisps, Buckles and Grunts; we've grown up hearing the names but do you know the difference?  What is a Pandowdy anyway and what the heck is a Slump?  And while we are at it, what is the difference between a Crisp and a Crumble?  These are just a few names of fruit desserts that grace American tables.  Ask the average person, on the street, to describe any of these and they might be able to give a description of a cobbler or a crisp.  Ask the same question to the next person and you are apt to get a totally different description,... read more

• Last updated 3/8/10 by Nicko

Written By Chef Peter Martin Having grown up in the restaurant business and being surrounded by great food, I am hard pressed to think of many food related revelations or epiphanies that I have had.  Sure there have been some great moments such as my first taste of Foie Gras, my first bite of a Maine lobster, or the first truffle I ever tasted, but these events were not life altering.  No, these events haven't had nearly the same impact on me as my first experience with great beer.  I wasn't 2 months into my culinary education at New England Culinary Institute, when,... read more