My Stepmother’s Filipino Chicken Adobo
My Stepmother’s Filipino Chicken was a popular post. I’m sort of rethinking how often I write these as I’m finding three times a week is a bit much. Tell me your thoughts. I called my father to wish him a happy birthday. He’s hard of hearing now, so I’m screaming into the phone. He still […]
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i8tonite: Gratitude with a Corn Goat Cheese Savory Pudding
A Facebook “friend” asked that ubiquitous question the other day, “What are you grateful for today?” A lot. Six years ago, I walked away from a car crash involving three big rigs and nine other cars on California Interstate 5. It was caused by a dust-storm that felt whipped up by Hades himself, near Bakersfield. […]
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i8tonite: New England’s Chef Greg Jordan, The Quarry in Hingham and Cider Braised Pork Osso Bucco
Approximately 45 minutes outside of Boston in an area called the South Shore, a 200-year-old historical gray stone building has been re-established as The Quarry. Its façade holds superlative dining owned and operated by Executive Chef Greg Jordan and his partners Julie and Ron LeDuc. The destination restaurant was lovingly created in mid-2014 for the […]
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i8tonite: BBQ Ribs and Four Seasons Scottsdale
Honestly, I have no idea what I’m doing, but I’m going with it. I created a food blog/website about food, recipes and travel. Writing about people I admire, places I’ve been and food I’ve enjoyed and can share with individuals – hopefully, a takeaway recipe for the reader to cook. That’s it. That’s all I […]
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i8tonite: with New York City’s Chef Joey Campanaro, The Little Owl featuring his Eggplant Parmigiana
The Little Owl is one of the New York City’s quintessential and great dining institutions. Sitting on the corner of Grove and Bedford, this West Village establishment is romantic in it’s atmosphere yet serves up lusty food. On the outside, with its scarlet-painted window panes and large blue awnings it seems like a colonial Manhattan bistro […]
Read MoreTo Brine or not Brine, That is The Question
If brining was all I had to think about I would be one very happy man. Unfortunately, it’s not, but brining (i.e cooking) makes me think of meats and seafood that are succulent and tasty. It does take a little forethought. The home-cook just has to think in advance about what they want to cook. […]
Read MorePantry Preferences: Plainly Preferred
As a home cook, I choose my recipes very carefully. I want them to be simple. I don’t need to have toasted fennel seeds, combined with homemade harissa, needing to stir the pot every 30 minutes to make sure the reduction is only reduced by a quarter. I’m sure most of us look at recipes […]
Read MoreHow to NOT Make a Cabbage Patch Dull
My friend Mark is a homecook like me but he loves to make complicated Moroccan food. The dishes that are thirteen thousand ingredients and counting. I do not. I want my food and cooking. It’s not that I don’t think that dishes with a lot of ingredients aren’t tasty; on the contrary, I find them […]
Read MoreThe Humble “Crumble” or Just a “Crisp”
I have written many times that my mother wasn’t really a cook. She was a working, single mother and it wasn’t really in her repertoire to cook. Occasionally, she would make a meatloaf or the requisite holiday dinner but normally it was a sandwich, doughnuts, Kraft Mac & Cheese, possibly a can of Campbell’s Pork […]
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Meatless Monday: Grilled Caesar Salad (just Meatless) and Family Suppers
It’s a funny thing about Caesar Salads. They bring me right back to waiting tables/bartending or working in a restaurant kitchen. Many of the “family meals” when I worked in restaurants consisted of a salad, burgers, pizza or pasta. There was never any of the slaved over staff dinners that is being touted in the […]
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