Good bagels are hard to come by in the Midwest. Technology has helped us with many things, but automating procedures to help streamline the process can sometimes affect the result. Traditionally bagels were proofed, boiled, then baked. It is quite an involved process that can take up a lot of time and room. Some bakeries […]
I have been a big fan of grits for a long time, or at least what I thought was grits. About 10 years ago I got to try some OG Grits. They were coarse-ground with a stone mill powered by the War Eagle Creek (a tributary of the White River) in Rogers, Arkansas. Quick grits […]
Spoonbread is like polenta met cornbread — and they called up soufflé and custard to have a party. This recipe is gluten-free, but not because the ingredients are left out that need to be there, but because it is naturally gluten-free. It has Native American roots and strong ties to the South. It can make […]
Cooking scalloped potatoes has always been more of a method as opposed to a recipe for me. I never look up a recipe to cook rice — I just make sure I know the ratio of liquid to rice, depending on the grain type, then make sure to use the correct method. I see scalloped […]
Just about every culture has some type of dumpling. They range from elaborate fillings with intricate folds, to seasoned clumps of dough with no filling. Dumplings can be steamed, fried or cooked in soup. The potsticker combines the best of both worlds — the dumplings are pan-fried until they stick to the pot or pan […]
It’s the best time of year to grill and smoke meat — and it’s currently in the middle of the wild Alaskan salmon season (April through September). Salmon is great grilled, baked, poached, broiled and cured, but my favorite is hot smoked. It does take a little planning, including 10 minutes in the morning to […]
Elotes Mexicanos or Mexican Street Corn may not be on your radar yet. It was not on mine, but once you have had it, there is no turning back to plain boiled corn. It is an unexpected mixture of tangy, cheesy, spicy and sour that makes you wonder, “Why am I just now having this […]
Have you ever eaten a sandwich that is as big as your head? If you have had a pork tenderloin sandwich, you have come close. The tenderloin sandwich was created in Nick’s Kitchen in Huntington, Indiana in 1904. It subsequently grew in popularity throughout Iowa and Missouri. It is a fabulous sandwich, but like many […]
Cannoli, “The King of Sicilian Desserts.” If you say the word “cannoli,” there is a 50-50 chance that someone will tell you to “leave the gun, take the cannoli.” Cannoli were adapted from a dish brought to Sicily by the Moors more than 1,000 years ago. The Sicilians adapted it to what we know as […]
Sometimes in the cold of winter, you need an easy dish you can make on a Monday and have for three or four meals throughout the week. Meatloaf is that dish. It is as easy or as complicated as you want. You can toss in ketchup, bread and seasoning, or grind your own meat, vegetables and […]
(Serves 4-6) 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 3 tablespoons cocoa powder ¾ cup milk chocolate chips or bar, chopped Pinch kosher salt Milk and cream as needed Directions: Mix first five ingredients together and reserve until you are ready to make hot chocolate. Add 3 to 5 tablespoons of the mixture to just below […]
You can stuff just about anything into tamales. Cheese, vegetables, braised meat, seafood, chicken, venison, turkey, beans and dessert are all common, but you can come up with so many more with a little imagination. If you talk to anyone who has a tradition of making tamales in their family, they will probably gladly give […]
Green bean casserole was first introduced in the 1950s and has grown in popularity, particularly at Thanksgiving. Although the original recipe was intended to be made with frozen green beans and canned cream of mushroom soup, I have made a few changes over the years. Like most dishes made during the middle of the century, […]
Cooking has always been a major event in my family, especially during the holidays. When I went to New York for culinary school, I was able to come back for only a short time over the holidays, so this left very little time to plan and execute our menu. We would start a slew of […]
Most people get a little nervous the first time they carve the turkey. It’s just food. You may mess up a little during the first couple of times, but it will get easier. I think carving a raw bird is easier. There is no pressure of a dining room full of guests waiting to eat, […]
The Columbia Area Career Center Culinary Arts Program (CACC Culinary) has been involved with Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture (CCUA) and its fall harvest festival, the Hootenanny, for the past five years. It is a showcase of local food and urban agriculture. We normally have a few dozen students who come to the event, but […]
Crab Rangoons are not traditional Chinese food, but they are delicious. You find them in just about every Chinese restaurant in the United States, but they originally started showing up on menus in San Francisco, not China, in the 1950s. It’s not difficult to make them; if you can make a dip, you can make […]
You have probably had Pasta Bolognese, a simple sauce on pasta. But do you really know what goes in it? It can be as complicated or as simple as you want. The recipe below is middle-of-the-road and has some options to take or leave. It is a hearty meat sauce with some tomato — not […]
Pizza is great, but inside a pocket it can be even better. This is a bit of an over simplification — a calzone is so much more than a pizza pocket. While the outer crust is pizza dough, the inside can be so much more than just random pizza toppings. Since the toppings are encased, […]
Fall is almost here, the time when we see an influx of root vegetables and winter squash. Just about everywhere you look there’s an abundance of potatoes, sweet potatoes, rutabagas, turnips, carrots and more. For some reason as a kid I was always scared of sweet potatoes and marshmallows. I think it was a combination […]
