• Last updated 11/11/12 by Pete

By Chef Peter Martin   As a young chef, I read countless cookbooks to expand my knowledge and help me develop my own style of cooking.  While I have many favorites there are probably only a few that really helped to truly define me as a chef.  One of those books was Steven Raichlen’s “The Barbecue! Bible.”  I had been dabbling in barbecuing and smoking foods for a number of years by then, but it was while reading that book that I became inspired to really delve into the world of barbecue and learn all its aspects and nuances.   Needless to say, in the... read more

• Last updated 2/16/10 by JackBlack

Restaurants and chefs are hot topics these days. Open any newspaper or magazine (including this one) and you’re bound to see some sort of restaurant news. Chefs are treated as celebrities and restaurants as nightclubs; i.e. adult playgrounds. I’ve read that some food writers describe America’s obsession with food as “the new sex”…personally, I’m not buying that one. At any rate, movies are no different, these too often portray—and glamorize—food and the foodservice industry. This is nothing new, of course, big screen “food movies” have been popular for years— Babette’s... read more

• Last updated 3/8/10 by Nicko

Written By Chef Peter Martin Part I  Choosing Your Steak Yes, I know, it is still the middle of winter, so why am I writing an article on grilling steaks?  Because, if you are like me, then grilling is a year round pursuit.  Sure, my grills see almost constant use during the summer, but they are also in use for a good part of the winter.  I have even been known to grill in subzero weather and with blizzards raging around me.  What better way is there to chase the winter blues away than firing up the grill and grilling up some of your favorite foods?  For me one of... read more

• Last updated 2/16/10 by Nicko

Nothing epitomizes summer cooking more than grilling.  However, grilling can be very confusing.  The more recipes, cookbooks, and perspectives you encounter, the greater the diversity of opinion that arises.  When do you apply the barbeque sauce?  Gas or charcoal?  Flip the food only once or frequently?  High heat or low heat?  Dry rubs or marinades?  Cover closed or open?  It can make ya nuts.  Let's explore the different variables. Barbeque sauce.  It is generally recommended to add it toward the last end of cooking since it is high in sugar and can burn easily.  Some... read more

• Last updated 2/16/10 by hbrody

If the mosquito is the most ubiquitous phenomenon of the summer, surely the backyard barbecue runs a close second. And what the barbecue inevitably spawns is the marinade, that delectable emollient that at once soothes and enhances the fare of the evening. Most often a marinade consists of a moderately priced oil, an acid, such as wine or vinegar, and seasonings - a combination similar to a salad dressing. Food authorities preach that the acid tenderizes the meat, while the seasonings suspended in the oil flavor it. Until recently, recipes for dry marinades (most often a... read more

• Last updated 2/16/10 by JackBlack

Before beginning I offer a couple of things to ponder. First, technically speaking grilling is not barbequing, but barbequing can be considered a form of grilling. And secondly, anything can be cooked over a live fire. Anything. Here's explanation. Barbequing and grilling both stem from the same primitive method of cooking over or next to an open fire, but true barbequing is different. When food is grilled it's usually done quickly over an open and sometimes hot fire, but when it's barbequed it's done slowly, sometimes over the course of an entire day, over a slow,... read more

• Last updated 2/16/10 by ckoetke

Welcome back to class. I hope that you have been successfully sautéing after last class session. As we learned in our last class, there are several broad categories of cooking methods--dry, wet, and a combination of both dry and wet. Sautéing is classed as a dry cooking method. Grilling also falls in the same category, in that it utilizes dry, intense heat to cook the product. During the summer months, grilling is the quintessential cooking method as it is done outside, thus not further heating up an already hot kitchen! While most people own a grill and use it... read more