• Created on 8/7/11 by Denis Dubiard

Dishes prepared with fresh herbs will have more flavor than dishes made with dried herbs. Whether you’ve grown your own herbs or purchased them at a farmer’s market, you might be unsure how to prepare fresh herbs for cooking. Luckily, using fresh herbs in your cooking is not difficult. While there are several methods of preparation that will work, each herb does have its own preference.   Basil Best known for flavoring Italian tomato sauces, pizzas and grilled vegetables, basil is best used as whole leaves or torn by hand. While the flavor is generally described... read more

• Created on 8/10/11 by Nicko

Keeping your chef’s knife sharpened is essential to not only making your job in the kitchen easier, but making it safer as well. Using a dull knife, especially on something such as a tomato, forces you to apply more pressure than you would with a sharpened blade, which means knife slippage is more likely to occur. Since a sharp knife is a chef's best friend, it is important to know how to sharpen your knives.     Sharpening your knife with a whetstone The best way of sharpening a knife is with a whetstone, but it might take a little time and practice to get the... read more

• Created on 2/16/10 by Nicko

  A Lobster Treatise A few nights ago I killed a lobster...a lot of lobsters, actually. Ten dozen to be exact. I didn't carry out this gruesome task alone. Steve, a friend and fellow culinarian helped me. I'm not bragging about this; it had to be done. It's part of my work. It's not that I enjoyed doing it either, but I have to admit that I've become somewhat desensitized. There is something very primitive in killing in order to feed people. It's easy to forget that, unless you're vegetarian, something must die for you to eat. Professional cooks are less... read more

• Created on 2/16/10 by Nicko

Holy, Wholly bagel by: Chef Jim Berman My earliest memory comes from sharing bagels with my grandmother. It always seemed liked a Sunday morning when we would sit at her foil-speckled topped diner table with a tub of margarine and a brown bag on its side with the warm bagels spilling out. And the bag was always the stiff, cardboard-like paper bag. The piping hot bagels were never packed in plastic, as the just-baked bagels would surely melt flimsy packaging. The bagels came from the back seat of my parent's car just after sunrise. My mother explained that the... read more

• Created on 2/17/11 by Nicko

I have been working on making homemade yogurt for the past year and wanted to post some step by step photos of the process I have been using. This is an open article/wiki so please feel free to add comments or make changes as you feel will improve the content of the article.   Ingredients 1/2 gallon of whole milk 2 packages of yogurt start (5 grams each) or 2-4 tablespoons of yogurt from a previous batch.   Tools Thermometer Non-reactive pot. preferable enameled cast iron such as le cruset.     Many people use store bought yogurt but I... read more

• Created on 8/29/11 by Nicko

Chefs can spend many hours of the week in the kitchen chopping onions. While it is a common kitchen chore, many people are intimidated by the task. Luckily, anyone can easily learn to properly chop an onion, and without a tear in sight. To begin, gather an unpeeled onion, a cutting board and a chef’s knife that is at least twice as long as the onion. Make sure your working space is well-ventilated. It is the build-up of sulfuric compounds that causes tears.   Place the onion on the clean cutting board. Place the vegetable so that both ends – the root and... read more

• Created on 2/16/10 by Nicko

Welcome back to class. During the next several class sessions, we will be exploring the different methods of cooking food. These methods are classified as dry, moist, or a combination of dry and moist. Dry methods include sautéing, roasting, grilling, deep frying, and are defined by the lack of a water based cooking medium. Moist cooking methods, poaching and steaming, rely on water to do the cooking. Combination cooking, principally braising, employs both dry and moist cooking methods. In this class session, we will focus on sautéing. The literal translation for... read more

• Created on 8/15/11 by Nicko

Whether you are a professional chef or your cooking experience is preparing meals for your family, roasting the perfect chicken should be a required skill. Not only will you impress family and friends, but a roasted chicken prepared one day can be delicious leftovers the next. If you are just beginning your culinary journey, perfecting the roast chicken process is easy to do and will give you the kitchen confidence to tackle more ambitious dishes.     While there are many recipes that tout the “perfect roast chicken” with various ingredients and steps, they... read more

• Created on 9/21/11 by Nicko

Quote:Discovering the Deli Some time ago, 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... read more

• Created on 2/16/10 by Nicko

Written By Chef Peter Martin When it comes to Thanksgiving, I admit it, I am a staunch traditionalist.  Fluffy mashed potatoes, glistening ruby red cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes slumbering beneath a blanket of toasty marshmallows  and stuffing redolent of sage, all surrounding the centerpiece, a beautiful golden turkey with crackling skin and moist, tender flesh.  In my opinion it doesn't get much better than that.     As a chef I have often times been tempted to try and improve on this theme by bringing new techniques and exotic ingredients to the... read more