food & cooking

Eighth Annual Birthday Dinner

June 11, 2013
Thumbnail image for Eighth Annual Birthday Dinner

I have been busy as of late due to a new full-time job, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been cooking. The cooking has continued, I just haven’t had the time to write about it. When I realized a month had gone by without my posting about the annual birthday dinner for She Who Must Be Obeyed [...]

Read the full article →

You’re Fired!

May 22, 2013
Thumbnail image for You’re Fired!

I knew something odd had happened when more than a few friends asked me if I had consulted with Penn Jillette on his new ice cream flavor. I know a bit about ice cream, and I’ve known Penn for decades, but this particular intersection on the Venn diagram was completely unexpected. When I realized that [...]

Read the full article →

Foodie Friends Friday

April 16, 2013
Thumbnail image for Foodie Friends Friday

There’s nothing like a dinner party to force me to dust off the cobwebs and start cooking creatively. We had attended a wonderful gathering in January – probably the best non-restaurant dinner we had enjoyed in years – so I felt it was time to reciprocate. And the bar had been raised. So here’s what [...]

Read the full article →

Fwied Wabbit

March 21, 2013
Thumbnail image for Fwied Wabbit

Things may be quiet here, but I assure you I have been cooking. The soups and stews that have kept us warm and fed during the Month of Endless Winter may not be blogworthy, but they have provided me with an opportunity to explore the depths of the Deep Storage Facility. I could pretend that the [...]

Read the full article →

Son of the Cabinet of Doctor Charcuterie*

February 9, 2013
Thumbnail image for Son of the Cabinet of Doctor Charcuterie*

I had successfully prepared lonza and pancetta, the salami was underway, what else could I try to cure? A quick check of the Deep Storage Facility inventory list revealed a pair of forelegs from a half pig I ordered a few year ago. They were little more than trotters with the hocks still attached, definitely not as [...]

Read the full article →

That’s How I Roll

December 13, 2012
Thumbnail image for That’s How I Roll

I joined last year’s Charcutepalooza competition a month late, which meant that I never officially prepared duck prosciutto or guanciale, even though I had made them both previously. I also skipped over a basic panceta, choosing instead to make my own bacon, which had earned me watch list status from the local fire department. I [...]

Read the full article →

The Lonza in Winter

December 12, 2012
Thumbnail image for The Lonza in Winter

The new batch of salami wasn’t the first addition to the curing cabinet this fall. I thought I’d ease back into charcuterie mode with something simpler from Salumi, but something that was also an improvement on one of my previous attempts. The lonza cured with orange and fennel met both of those requirements, in particular [...]

Read the full article →

Return to the Cabinet of Doctor Charcuterie

December 11, 2012
Thumbnail image for Return to the Cabinet of Doctor Charcuterie

Last year at this time I was furiously scrambling to complete my final entry in the Charcutepalooza competition. My lonzino and bresaola had just crossed the time/weight threshold for safe consumption, and quickly disappeared in a flurry of holiday gifts and dinner party appetizers. The salami I had made the month before took longer to [...]

Read the full article →

Aftersgiving

December 6, 2012
Thumbnail image for Aftersgiving

Here at Chez Belm we celebrate Aftersgiving: the weekend after Thanksgiving weekend. Since we travel to visit family most years, we were routinely denied the joys of turkey leftovers until I hit on the idea of ordering a farm-raised turkey to cook upon our return. Roasting a whole turkey requires a lot of time and [...]

Read the full article →

When Blogs Collide

November 21, 2012
Thumbnail image for When Blogs Collide

I had developed an online friendship with Ryan Adams after I discovered his blog Nose to Tail at Home, where, in the absence of god, he’s doing Fergus’s holy work and cooking every recipe. When I read his review of Takashi in New York my first thought was “I have to eat there,” but my second [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries