Soccarat: the elusive and ethereal crust of rice that forms at the bottom of the paella pan. Impassioned fans of the dish will literally fight over this, much in the same way as the impassioned football fans of FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. On the particular night in question, more than 16 years ago, we …
The Kitchen Ambience
I woke up last Wednesday to the daily email push from the NY Times, the Wednesday dining section and their Diner's Journal. Two articles grabbed me out of the gates - What Chefs are Rockin' to in the Kitchen, and an amazing piece of news on one of my heroes, Louis Armstrong. It's not uncommon …
Maillard Reaction, with Apologies to Chef James Clark
My buddy Chef James Clark is arguably the most avid outdoorsman I know this side of Rene Redzepi, and probably a whole lot more fun. While you can imagine Rene truckin' around the woods outside Copenhagen looking for edible lichens to pair with a cardamom - milk skin, Chef James would much rather spend time …
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Anecdote of the Pulled Pork BBQ Hash
"What," I asked flatly "did you say?" The elder brother replied. "May I try some of that also?" ...and then there were none. The morning smells of pecan - laced smoke, caramelizing onions, malt vinegar and muscovado sugar grafted to crispy taters and shredded porcine goodness had done the job. It was the nudge needed …
The Super Secret Burger
This blog begins with a cheeseburger. Due both to the fact that it is first and foremost the primary focus of my younger step son's diet, and to its iconic status in American foodways, I wanted to weigh in. As the previous Executive Chef at Gaylord Opryland, the 17th largest hotel and convention center in …