Ask Chef Phyllis: I loved my mother’s baccala and have tried to make it myself. She was from the Piedmont region of Italy. I used a recipe that called for capers, but I didn’t like them in this dish. Maybe I used too many. After soaking the salt cod in water for three days, as […]
Category Archives: Ask Chef Phyllis
08
Feb
Feb
Ask Chef Phyllis: Have you heard about the big fermented food craze? What should I know about gut health? My sister Aggie told me that yogurt is good for us (and a good substitute for our favorite double chocolate fudge ice cream) because of its live cultures. But we’ve still never tried kimchi, kefir, or […]
02
Feb
Feb
Ask Chef Phyllis: Lent is early this year, and since my family has Cajun roots, we do celebrate Mardi Gras. After, we will fast forty days or at least give up some favorite food during Lent. We usually make a kind of gumbo (Cajun Shrimp Chowder or Cajun Gumbo) that is unique to our area […]
26
Jan
Jan
Ask Chef Phyllis: I don’t doubt that people write to you about what festive meals to serve during the holidays, but my question is what to serve in between and after those costly feasts? That’s when I’m so burned out. Do you have any suggestions for crock pot meals, top–of–the–stove meals, or even simple, quick chicken meals that are cooked in the oven? […]
19
Jan
Jan
Ask Chef Phyllis Everyone knows that English muffins came to America with Samuel Thomas. Everyone knows they’re a pain to make….kneading, rolling, cutting, and griddling. So I decided to make English muffin bread. That sounded like a solution. I tried six different recipes, some old, some new. Easy by definition, yet not so easy as the ones I tried didn’t produce the […]
22
Dec
Dec
Ask Chef Phyllis: Pain d’Epices from France Have you ever heard of pain d’epices? French for “spice bread,” it’s literally a kind of spiced sweet bread (with cinnamon, ginger, and anise seed), but Europeans think of it as a cake. Compared to the old familiar fruit cake, this version, although sweet, is far less complicated […]
19
Dec
Dec
Ask Chef Phyllis: If my grandmother didn’t make Cuban pork for New Year’s Day, she probably made oxtail stew. Both leave plenty for leftovers and are festive enough for any holiday. My experience is too lacking for me to recall what was in this stew except for red wine and tomatoes. But my grandmother’s stew […]
08
Dec
Dec
Ask Chef Phyllis: My daughter came over the other day and said, “Remember when you could buy a good date-nut bread in the supermarket?” I thought yes, I do. And then, without blinking an eye, we went and looked for a recipe card that my mom gave me when I first got married, and it […]
24
Nov
Nov
My grandmother’s name was Ruth, but she was known as “Bubbie” for as long as I can remember. My father tells me that at Hanukkah she would make an extremely tender beef roast with prunes or dried fruit in the sauce. He smiles when he tells me that the roast was brought to the baker’s […]
12
Oct
Oct
When it comes to cooking, my friends think I’m a trend spotter (and they may be right!). And I’ve noticed that salts of all kinds are definitely in the limelight these days. Because I love to cook and create new recipes, and with a plethora of new salts readily available, I want to introduce you […]
11
May
May
All my life, every Easter my family—guided by three generations of matriarchs—would make a traditional specialty called Easter Wheat Pie (pastiera di Grano). One of the main ingredients is grano, Italian for wheat berries. You might have seen wheat berries in the bulk section at the health food store, but unless you grind or mill […]
13
Apr
Apr
First, let’s shed a little light on goat milk and goat cheese. Growing in popularity almost every day, you may have noticed that goat cheese is all the rage. Are you confused about it and how to use it? Do you need suggestions for serving it? Mastering a tried and true recipe is a great […]
30
Mar
Mar
Ask Chef Phyllis: The first vegetable my husband brings in from his spring garden is a bunch of radishes. We enjoy them for about two weeks. We often forget this from year to year, but after a little while no one wants to eat them. They are too strong or spicy, the leaves are too […]
16
Mar
Mar
Ask Chef Phyllis: I just discovered Indian cuisine, which I always thought was just curry. But recently I ate something called Peas with Paneer (Mattar Paneer) at my new and maybe soon-to-be favorite restaurant. It was very good. They told me it wasn’t made from soy (since I thought I was eating tofu), but it […]
02
Mar
Mar
Ask Chef Phyllis: Lent seems much longer than 40 days when I don’t have any ideas for new meatless meals. I get tired of mac and cheese and fried fishcakes or BLT’s without the bacon—and certainly wouldn’t serve these to guests. It wouldn’t be so dreary if we entertained more. I need tasty dinners; fish […]
17
Feb
Feb
Many years ago, this New York City girl got transplanted to the Adirondacks. As I look back, it was a good decision for my soon-to-begin-high-school teenagers. Now they thank me when they recall that in New York City they would have been little fish in a very big pond. Upstate, in Glens Falls, they were […]
03
Feb
Feb
Ask Chef Phyllis: Ever since I was a little girl, I remember having cherry macaroons for Valentine’s Day. I think my mother bought them in a candy store like Loft’s—not a bakery shop because they had chocolate drizzled on the top of them—but I can’t be sure. I would like to make them at home […]
20
Jan
Jan
Ask Chef Phyllis: It’s winter, and I need to learn to make a good soup. My husband is now on a restricted diet, with low or less salt required for health reasons. So I began reading the labels on processed foods at the supermarkets, mostly on sodium contents of canned soups, and I was amazed. […]
06
Jan
Jan
Ask Chef Phyllis: Many years ago, my mother and grandmother made what they called “Boston baked” beans that cooked in a large brown bean pot overnight in the oven. The beans didn’t have BBQ sauce or, for that matter, a red tomato sauce at all. I haven’t found a good recipe and would prefer to […]
23
Dec
Dec
Ask Chef Phyllis: I want to have a holiday tradition that will make memories like the one I remember most from my grandmother. We only had her German goodies like Lebkuchen and Pfeffernusse at Christmas time, which made them special. But the thing I remember most of all was her gingerbread…it was the best, more […]