Tag: Cookbooks

Posted in #allrecipes

This Surprising Ingredient Makes the Fluffiest Eggs, According to a Chef

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Many people may find it hard to believe that I started cooking at six years old. You may be thinking, what parent allows their six year old near a stove? Well my grandmother did. She was old-school, so she practiced the art of tough love. The first thing she ever taught me to make was scrambled eggs. Making eggs is one of the easiest things to make as a novice cook. Then you go to culinary school and realize you were wrong. 

Making the perfect eggs can start a conversation, and I assure you everyone will tell you something different. However, when I came across an Instagram reel of Michelin starred chef, José Andrés, on What Happens Now with Andy Cohen, I knew I had to try the chef’s go-to egg method.

Allrecipes

Posted in #allrecipes

The 1 Simple Trick for the Best Bacon Ever

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

We cook bacon every weekend as part of our Sunday brunch tradition. My husband makes the eggs and toast while I make the bacon and cut the fruit. (Coffee is on a timer and prepped the night before.) Since we have little kids, it’s hard to stand next to the stove and make sure the bacon is prepared perfectly. Plus, I’m never a fan of the fat splattering everywhere and making a greasy mess!

During my days in a professional restaurant kitchen 20 years ago, we always cooked bacon on a sheet pan in the oven. By baking it in the oven, you can prep a lot more at a time and you can put it on a timer without having to be near the stove. But just recently, a friend told me about a trick that not only makes the best bacon but also slashes the cooking time in half.

Of course, I had to try it. 

Allrecipes

Posted in From My Kitchen

93 One-Pot Meals You’ll Keep Coming Back To

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Dinner, with Less Mess

There’s no denying that the least exciting part of cooking is cleaning up the mess afterwards. Whether you tackle a good, old-fashioned Sunday supper or a simple weeknight meal, it feels like the dirty pots, pans and plates always pile up fast. That’s where these one-pot wonders come in. Grab your favorite casserole dish to make a dump dinner, break out the cast-iron skillet and whip up rustic chicken and dumplings or turn to your Instant Pot for shrimp scampi in just 20 minutes; whatever you decide, you’ll find that these recipes are wonderfully delicious—and make cleanup a breeze. Take this American version of goulash, for example. It features hearty pasta and plenty of aromatic spices (including paprika as a nod to the traditional Hungarian dish) for a comforting and complete meal that can be made entirely in your Dutch oven. What could be easier?

Food Network

Posted in #allrecipes

The Science-Backed Way to Caramelize Onions in Half the Time

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

I always joke that if I could make a custom Yankee Candle, it’d be sautéed onion-scented. It may sound odd, but in my opinion, there are few smells more enticing than that of onions (and garlic while we’re at it) cooking down. For most of my childhood, that meant something was happening in the kitchen, and something good at that.

These days when I cook for myself, I don’t do the traditional meal prep, but I do like to prepare some components to help me iterate on lunches and dinners throughout the week. One of the most frequent things I do is make a big batch of caramelized onions for two reasons. The first is that everything is better with caramelized onions; chicken, burgers, dip, quesadillas—you name it.

The second reason is that truly caramelized onionstake a long, long time. Luckily, I found a hack that cuts the time down by half and even makes them weeknight-friendly, meaning you have a delicious, cheap dinner upgrade in your back pocket any time you need it.

Allrecipes

Posted in #allrecipes

Chef John’s Best Italian Recipes

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Chef John knows Italian food. Over the years, he’s covered all the Italian essentials — simple sauces, lasagnas, minestrone soup — and explored some exciting outliers — Tuscan black pepper beef anyone? Mmm, we love them all! This Italian-inspired collection features some of our all-time favorite Chef John recipes.

Allrecipes