Purely Random

Have you ever watched a cooking show and thought, “I could do that if I had someone measure out all my ingredients and set them on the counter in little dishes for me.” Yes? Then you need to start using prep dishes. You may not have someone to fill them for you, but these cheap little dishes make it possible to do a lot of the detail work well in advance of actually cooking. All the chopping, measuring, and other little details that require careful inspection of your recipe can take place before you turn dive into combining, mixing, sauteing can be done well in advance of turning on the stove. Taking care of the details before the heat comes one, will make your cooking far more manageable. Who knows, maybe you can even find a friend to help you fill them up. (more…)

The more people that end up being invited to a dinner party, the less manageable that party becomes. It’s inevitable: as you invite more people, the amount of food required grows. Even the variety of food required expands as guests with what I’ll call “limited flavor tolerances” become involved. The result: lots of running around doing prep work and trying to please too many different people instead of bringing a close group of friends together for an enjoyable meal. I’m guilty of these sins, and they must stop. (more…)

Let me step away from the traditional breakfast post for just a moment: today, I’m going to talk about a coffee shop. Realize that I’m a novice coffee drinker at best, but I find that there’s a lot of opportunity for variety in that world, and I’d love to become more aware of it’s intricacies. Variety, as we should all embrace, is the the spice of life. (more…)