TIP OF THE DAY: Don’t Crowd The Pan…& Use The Right Pan

Top Chef Sylvain Harribey of the Sofitel New York shares this tip: When you cook, don’t overcrowd the pan with the ingredients. In a packed pan, foods end up steaming rather than caramelizing. This adds cooking time and subtracts taste. All ingredients should fit comfortably in one layer. Either use a pan that’s big enough…
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Many Strawberry Recipes & Strawberry Holidays To Celebrate

[1] Strawberry and thyme ice cubes. The recipe is below (photo © Shari’s Berries). [2] February 27th is National Strawberry Day, March 21st is National California Strawberry Day, and May is National Strawberry Month (photo © California Strawberry Commission). [3] September 28th is National Strawberry Cream Pie Day. Here’s the recipe (photo © Delicious |…
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TIP: Wine For A Wedding Shower

Top: A bottle of Trousseau wine from Stephane-Tissot.com, rated 91 by Robert Parker. Second: The seminal fanciful label from Bonnie Doon Vineyards. Follow the red line to the flying cigar. Third: Goat-Roti, punning on the Rhone wine Côte-Roti and the classic Rhone label style. Photo courtesy FancyCellar.com. Bottom: Need you ask? It’s Marilyn Merlot from…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Agrodolce & Gastrique

If you watch Top Chef, you’ve heard the term gastrique (gas-TREEK). While it sounds like the French word for gastric system*, it’s actually a sweet and sour sauce, similar to the Italian sauce agrodolce (agro-DOLE-chay, meaning sour [agro] and sweet [dolce]).   Gastrique and agrodolce have a broad use: as sauces for meat, poultry, fish,…
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Uses For Extra Shallots & A Recipe For Shallot Vinaigrette

[1] Shallot vinaigrette, a French classic, shown with Dutch yellow shallots. The recipe is below (photo © Good Eggs). [2] Shallot bulbs have individual cloves, which are peeled and sliced like garlic bulbs (photo © Burpee). [3] Mignonette sauce for oysters is shallot vinaigrette without the oil (photo © Whole Foods Market). [4] French red…
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