• Created on 2/16/10 by bmarinelli

What's In A Name? The last five years has brought a large proliferation of Oysters to the market. Where as the menu of a few years ago was lucky to include the ubiquitous "Blue Point" the menus of today offer a range of oyster varieties. With the popularity of Oyster Bars, it is not unusual to see as many as 20 different oysters offered to the discriminating consumer. Oyster varieties such as the Quilcene,  Hog Island, Malpeque and Kumamoto have all but become house hold names and now even more recognizable to the under 30 crowd than the Beatles. But where do all these... read more

• Created on 2/16/10 by crenfrow

It never ceases to amaze me that supposedly new and exciting recipes can be so very old in origin. Take, for example, the recent craze for fried mozzarella sticks. 10 years ago they were nowhere to be found. Now suddenly almost every Italian-American restaurant offers them, and they're available in a heat-n-eat form from the supermarket as well. Amazing. Especially when you consider that one form of this recipe dates back to at least the 14th century! This recipe for fried cheese sticks, or "pipefarces", appears in Le Ménagier de Paris, a French work of c. 1393.... read more

• Created on 2/16/10 by pbrown

The most frequent question I'm asked from visitors to my web site; The Adventures of an Itinerant Chef (http://www.chefpatrick.com/) is, “How do you find all these jobs?”I've decided to take advantage of this column to answer that question. I began my culinary career as an apprentice in 1971 working in restaurants, hotels and resorts on the “resort circuit.”The “resort circuit” is nothing more than any restaurant, hotel, resort, lodge, camp, yacht and other business that operate on a seasonal basis. To “work the circuit”one could work the Summer season at a lodge in... read more

• Created on 2/16/10 by ssolomon

The Loire River rises in the Massif Central from where it flows into the Atlantic Ocean. At some 629 miles long, it is the longest river in France. It flows first to the north, and then to the west. Soft plains spread around the Loire's giant curve in a region justly called the Garden of France. Then countryside is sprinkled with Renaissance castles and there is an abundance of wines and cheeses. It was in this region in the eighth century, that the Saracens were repelled at the city of Poitiers. The Saracens were originally Arabs, who for centuries had occupied much... read more

• Created on 2/16/10 by crenfrow

This delicious recipe for Pears in Syrup is from a manuscript cookbook dating to circa 1450 (Harleian MS. 4016). These pears make a perfect dessert for a hearty autumn or winter feast! Present individual servings in crystal glasses to show off the exquisite color of the sauce. ( [th] stands for the Old English character 'thorn.') The original recipe: 96 Peris in Syrippe. Take Wardons, and cast hem in a faire potte, And boile hem til [th]ei ben tendre; and take hem vppe, and pare hem in ij. or in iij. And take powder of Canell, a good quantite, and cast hit in good... read more

• Created on 2/16/10 by pbrown

Dateline: March 1, 2001, San Jose, Costa Rica Following my interview with Norman Saurage the CEO of the Community Coffee Company, I couldn't wait to broaden my knowledge about coffee. The next stage of my development involved a coffee "cupping." Similar to a wine tasting, a "cupping" was arranged for me by Norman at one of his companies new Coffee Houses in Austin, Texas. I arrived at CC's Coffee House at North Lamar and 6th Street in Austin at 1:00 PM and was greeted by David Walsh, CC's District Manager and Melissa Piker-Purvis, the store manager. I was impressed... read more

• Created on 2/16/10 by pbrown

Dateline: December 1, 2000, San Jose, Costa Rica Searching For The Perfect Cup of Coffee PART ONE One of the great advantages of working as Chef on board a luxury charter yacht, has always been meeting interesting people from around the World. This past Summer in Alaska, was no exception. I met one person particularly who's expertise, and knowledge about coffee has surely changed my life forever. It began quite innocently enough as the yacht M/V Explorer pulled from the dock in Juneau, Alaska for a week long charter to Sitka. Our six guests had just started... read more

• Created on 2/16/10 by JackBlack

Parsley, More Than a GarnishMany already know this but some do not, and for those who have been wrongly misinformed throughout life let it be said that parsley is a culinary herb that is full of flavor as well as color and is not merely a garnish. Parsley is without a doubt the most popular and widely used culinary herb in the world. It grows in most climates and is readily available throughout the year. It's unfortunate, though, that parsley is also one of the least appreciated herbs in America, its subtle flavor is often overlooked and not even considered it's usually... read more

• Created on 2/16/10 by dbirkle

Oregano Also called ORIGANUM, flavourful dried leaves and flowering tops of any of various perennial herbs of the mint family (Lamiaceae, or Labiatae), particularly Origanum vulgare, called wild marjoram in northern and central Europe, widely used to season many foods. The name is derived from the Greek oros, "mountain," and ganos, "joy." Oregano has long been an essential ingredient of Mediterranean cooking. Pliny the Elder thought it a remedy for bad digestion. The Greeks used it as a poultice for wounds, and Pliny recommended it for scorpion and spider bites. The... read more

• Created on 2/16/10 by litalia

Why are some olive oils green and others yellowish? What does color indicate? The different colors of the oils depend on the variety, climate, irradiation of the tree, and principally on the date that they are harvested. The color indicates how ripe the olive is, but only the experts can decipher this to decide when to begin the harvest. Why is some olive oil peppery and other mild, and what does it mean? The peppery quality depends on how ripe the fruit is; olives which are not overripe have intense aromas and as a consequence are spicy. On the contrary, olives that... read more