Beef

Thumbnail image for How to Temper Steak

How to Temper Steak

July 1, 2010

I knew I was missing a step. Despite  learning how to heat a pan to perfection and fire up the grill without burning off my eyebrows, I struggle with producing a medium-rare steak. Oh, technically, I know how to use the palm method to determine doneness, but my results are hit and miss. Turns out [...]

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Thumbnail image for Slow-Cooked Beef with Red Wine

Slow-Cooked Beef with Red Wine

January 22, 2010

I sat beside Ricardo, Canada’s most popular culinary celebrity, at the Canadian Culinary Book Awards a few months ago. He’s got his own Food Network show, Ricardo and Friends, three cookbooks and a self-titled magazine — all in two languages. When he was seated beside me I was simultaneously thrilled and panicky. What would I [...]

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Fennel — My official apology

April 28, 2009

Until recently fennel was a spice I ignored. If I saw it in a recipe, I skipped it. After all, it was usually one of fifteen other spices in a curry. Who’d notice it was missing? But this past week I came across a couple of recipes where fennel was the star. Omit it and [...]

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Italian Meatballs

April 7, 2009

People ask Andrew if being married to a food blogger means he eats wonderful meals all the time. His response? “My life is a series of weeks. Sometimes you eat ice cream for seven days. Sometimes it’s all soup.” In my defense, there was salad in the fridge at all times. Even when I wasn’t [...]

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Thumbnail image for Simple Beef Stew with Orange-Walnut Gremolata

Simple Beef Stew with Orange-Walnut Gremolata

January 5, 2009

Is everyone on a diet this week? I don’t know about you, but despite my normally ferocious sweet tooth, I’m not ready to face another dessert, scone, pastry or white-flour carbohydrate for a few days. Whether or not you’re counting calories, this beef stew will expand your vocabulary more than your waistline. Don’t let the [...]

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Tuscan Sausages

July 25, 2006

I was looking through some old family recipes and noticed how short they were. The instructions, and sometimes even the amounts given for the ingredients, assumed you know how to make the dish. These recipes served mainly to prod the memory, not teach. Unlike the remedial approach taken by today’s TV chefs, these culinary heirlooms [...]

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