DIY Butter

Last week, I wrote a quick tip on making flavored (aka compound) butter, and it got me thinking why people insist on, as a standard, using softened, but not melted butter. Sometimes we just follow convention and accept it for…

Flavored Butter

One nice way to add a special touch to a dish, is by accompanying it with a flavored butter. One of the first times I had it at a restaurant, I remembered it was a delicious revelation. Making this is…

Olive oil infusions

Good cooking requires transfer of flavors and aromas. A soup without transfers is just hot water and floating vegetables. One way to transfer flavors is to add that ingredient directly to the dish, as in adding fermented shrimp paste to…

Animal slaughters

Every now and then my wife and I talk about our future home.  Recently we added a chicken coop to the imaginary layout.  My wife likes the idea of freshly-laid eggs.  I know raising chickens will also involve harvesting their…

Leftover tomato sauce

When I’m organized I cook tomato sauce ahead of time.  It’s insurance against too-busy-to-cook nights.  It’s amenable to small portions and saucing pasta practice.  The general principle is disaggregating cooking.  The more cooking I’ve put in the fridge, the easier…