TIP OF THE DAY: Get An Olive Pitter (And A Cherry Pitter As A Bonus)

A year ago we wrote about kitchen gadgets to avoid. Some, like the mango pitter, turned out to be a waste of space and money—they work only on perfectly-shaped mangoes. Others, like a garlic press, an egg separator, a mandoline, an egg slicer and a cherry- or olive-pitter make difficult jobs easy. With olives and…
Continue reading “TIP OF THE DAY: Get An Olive Pitter (And A Cherry Pitter As A Bonus)”

TIP OF THE DAY: Cook Some Wild Striped Bass

Try striped bass for a change. Photo courtesy EuroUSA.   Some fish get more respect than others. The media are filled with recipes for cod, halibut, trout, salmon, sea bass, snapper and tilapia. What about the striped bass*, a coastal water denizen that happens to be the state fish of Maryland, Rhode Island and South…
Continue reading “TIP OF THE DAY: Cook Some Wild Striped Bass”

TIP OF THE DAY: Make Homemade Soda

A few years back, we began to notice a restaurant trend: creative mixologists making their sodas from scratch. Some of it was creative flavoring—fennel-lemongrass soda, for example. Others were the desire of mixologists to make the best-ever cola, root beer and ginger ale. All of it was all-natural. Spice Market New York, owned by chef…
Continue reading “TIP OF THE DAY: Make Homemade Soda”

TIP OF THE DAY: 10 Ways To Use Nutmeg

There’s nothing like fresh-ground nutmeg. The pre-ground product is pallid in comparison. You may use nutmeg in baking—custards and pumpkin pie, spice cakes and cookies—and it’s de rigueur in egg nog. But what about savory uses? Following the demise of our decades-old nutmeg mill, we’ve been enjoying our new chrome nutmeg mill from William Bounds.…
Continue reading “TIP OF THE DAY: 10 Ways To Use Nutmeg”

TIP OF THE DAY: Make Paneer At Home

Cubes of grilled paneer. See the recipe below. Photo courtesy Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.   It’s not easy to make most cheeses at home. But it is surprisingly easy to make paneer, a fresh cheese popular in Indian and other South Asian cuisines that ports nicely into Western fare. Paneer does not melt when heat…
Continue reading “TIP OF THE DAY: Make Paneer At Home”