I've posted my veggie stock recipe for those that are interested in making stock from scratch. Don't be limited by the ingredients I use here. You can always add more based on what you're making (i.e. seeds from a squash if you're making a squash soup, mushrooms if the stock will go in porcini risotto, etc.) I like to keep it simple because I usually don't know what I'll be using the stock for in advance.
Today's Boston Globe Food section features on article, Going from farming to pizzas, about my aunt and uncle's farm and pizza business. "A typical winter menu features pizzas with plain cheese; pepperoni with or without capers; oven-roasted carrots, beets, and potatoes; and potato with bacon and sour cream." Mmmm, sounds delicious. I've yet to try one of their pizzas, though family members that have rave about them. Must get to Vermont ASAP, stomach growling already...
The secret to cooking really good food lies in the quality of your ingredients. I've heard this many times, but I have finally come to believe its absolute truth with my purchase of good quality balsamic vinager ($8 bottle from Buon Italia at the Chelsea Market). It's like I never understood vinaigrette until now. Thank God the movers wouldn't allow me to lug that cheapo balsamic vinager from San Francisco.
Fresh. Always. Fresh ground pepper. Fresh herbs. Fresh seasonings and spices. Have you ever grated fresh nutmeg (it looks like a funny nut) on top of creamy fettucine? It's magical.
Kosher salt for seasoning your water before adding veggies or pasta. Thomas Keller says you should cook veggies in water so briney its salt content resembles that of the ocean. After much experimentation, I concur.
Homemade stock. There is simply no substitute. And homemade veggie stock takes less than an hour to prepare and freezes beautifully. On Sundays I like to make a batch and freeze it in 2 cup quantities.
You'd think I'd have more to share, but that's it, those are my secrets. Quality, seasonal ingredients, as fresh as you can get. That's the difference between so-so food and "Wow! That's the best carmalized onion I've ever tasted!" meals.
The New York Metro Where to Eat Now 2003 is out and available in New York magazine and online. It would help a lot if one could view the "hot" restaurants by neighborhood but it seems that the layout is restricted to the categories they've defined, and 'by neighborhood' isn't one of them, unless you happen to live on the Upper West Side. Sadly the entire layout of these pages makes this resource less useful than it could be. 3 columns for "The Hot List"? Guh.
Megnut is a site about food written by Meg Hourihan. She lives in NYC. More...
Summer drinks should be like summer evenings: long, light and cool. Guest writer A.D. introduces some less common ones to enliven our senses during these wonderful long hot days.
Food traditions bind my family; I'm reminded of that every year when I drive to north-central Massachusetts to pick strawberries with my grandparents.
My mother swears by frozen fish. I was unconvinced, and decided to put her statements to the test: could flash-frozen fish taste as good as fresh local fish from the Greenmarket or even fresh fish from a local supermarket?
