A St Patrick's Feast, Corned Beef and Cabbage the results!

It's here, You know what I’m talking about. That day, that holiday I love, St Patrick's. As a I wrote in my last posting I was going to cure my own corned beef. Well today is the day. It's done, I hope. Walking slowly to the refrigerator, I open the door and retrieve the brisket that I had lovingly put in brine not more than 10 day ago. Moving to the sink I think, “10 days, What am I going to find when I open that bag?” I open the zip top carefully and smell. Hmm no off smells, that's a good sign. I then pour off the brine and see that the gods of food preservation have rewarded me, with the gift of Corned Beef, well almost. It's not done yet.

Corned Beef for the Wearing of the Green

A very important Holiday is a approaching. You might not realized it, but St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner. I must have that Traditional St Paddy's day meal Corned Beef and cabbage. That slow cooked pink meat that feeds the soul of my Irish heritage. That meal I seem to wait all year for. All I need to do is head to the store and pick out the best looking plastic bag with those pickling spices and I'm good to go...... What was that...Did I hear someone say something? A Year of Making EVERYTHING, you say? No, no, no this is a cured meat that doesn't count, remember. Hey where are you going?

Marinara: A Quick Sauce for a COLD Day

It's cold. Really cold. It's January and I haven't decided if I am in Ohio or on Hoth. I want something hearty for dinner. Warming, comforting, I want pasta with a marinara sauce Again I head to the pantry and hope that this job won't be a major undertaking. Slowly, timidly I open the door, fear building with every creak of the 76 year old hinges. I look with my head to the side and one eye open. Scanning the shelves, dread starts to overcome me. I swear it was in there, this can't be right. Fate can't be this cruel, providence this unkind. WHY DOES GOD HATE ME SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Vinaigrette: Rescue for a Prework Lunch Disaster

Today, I went to my refrigerator to make a tasty salad. (yes I eat salads for lunch) Checklist, Romaine, onion, pepper, cheese, ham, salad dressing, this is where my day went south. My favorite bottled dressing was empty, and in keeping with the rules of this experiment I now have to make my own salad dressings. Given that it was morning and I didn't have a lot of time I decided on making a vinaigrette. Vinaigrette, so fast yet so complex, this concoction is a science experiment in the kitchen. I have to admit that this is not the first time that I have made a vinaigrette I have done it for a lot of recipes and for special occasions. But I have never really thought about it as refrigerator staple that I could make for myself on an weekly basis and I not sure why. It's fast, simple, and cheap and if I'm about anything is about being cheap.

Subway Changes Bread Recipe: This is Kind of What I'm Talking About

Today’s Post is not about cooking per say. This past week Subway made the decision to change their bread recipe. It seems that they used an ingredient that can also be found in rubber shoe soles and yoga mats called Azodicarbonamide. This change is in part a result of a Blog called FoodBabe, however Subway claims that they were looking into removing the ingredient before the publicity. So why is azodicarbonamide in bread anyway?

Chicken Stock, the Beginning of Everything

Double, double toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble.

In my last writing I was putting my thoughts into word and clarifying my ideas. This time I am putting those thoughts into motion, slowly. So what item do we start with? I decided that the most basic cooking staple that there is, that mysterious concoction that boils long and slow and is tended by cooks as the weird sisters of Macbeth would tend their cauldron. And while the ingredients are only slightly less exotic than that of the Three Witches, Chicken Stock has intimidated and confounded many a home cook (including me).

A Year of Making Everything The Experiment Begins

Before there were mega marts, and the internet, before there were convenience stores and warehouse clubs, our grandparents and great grandparents would make everything that they would use on a daily basis. The pantry was the place that you would find these things and they would have been put up months in advance. In short, life was a lot harder, but without that struggle I think we have lost the understanding of what goes into making these food items.