Blog | How To Cook Like Your Grandmother

How To Make Slow-Roasted Chicken

By Drew | Published: May 7, 2012

Have I mentioned lately how much I love our Dutch oven? (Even though Le Creuset insists on calling it a French oven.) You can throw just about any big hunk of meat in there and a few hours later you’ve got an amazing dinner.

The funny thing is, the more we use it the more we go in two opposite directions: More seasoning (potted chicken with tomatoes and Italian herbs), and less seasoning. And both directions are great. I’m starting to think the secret may be a well-cooked piece of meat. Who would have guessed?

(Oh, and PS: It takes about five minutes hands-on time to prepare it.)
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How To Make Polvorones de Canele (Cinnamon Cookies)

By Drew | Published: May 4, 2012

The more home-made food we eat, the more we think modern recipes are way too sweet. Everything you buy at the grocery store is loaded with corn syrup — even the kielbasi. (I’m not kidding, check the ingredients.)

That’s why our perfect brownie recipe is more chocolaty and less sweet. It’s why we love the cocanes. (Great cookie, odd name.) And now the Mexican-style Polvorones de Canele — Cinnamon Cookies.
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Posted in Dessert, Holiday | Tagged Cinqo de Mayo, recipe card | 4 Comments

The Difference Between Bread Flour, Cake Flour, and All-Purpose Flour

By Drew | Published: May 4, 2012

I used to think recipes calling for bread flour were being pretentious, like the recipes that specify Kosher salt, or fresh-ground black pepper. Then I started using Kosher salt and fresh-ground black pepper and realized, “Hey, you know what? Some of this stuff makes a difference.”

So I read up on what makes the different flours different, and it sounded pretty important. I finally tried it when I made rye bread for St. Paddy’s Day. I was really impressed, but I hadn’t made rye before so I didn’t know just how impressed I should be.

Then I made pizza dough. Read More »

Posted in Bread, Technique | 7 Comments

How To Make Sautéed Cabbage

By Drew | Published: April 27, 2012

When I was making Colcannon for St. Paddy’s Day, I very nearly stopped with the sautéed cabbage. It was that good. It took me a couple of weeks to get back to it but I finally did, and it was just as good on its own as I thought it would be.
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Posted in Side | Tagged Undieting | 2 Comments

How To Make Colcannon

By Drew | Published: March 22, 2012

If you’re looking for authentic Irish food for St. Patrick’s Day, don’t go with corned beef and cabbage. That’s the American version of Irish food. A bit more authentic is colcannon, which is really more of an idea than a strict recipe.

Short version: Cook and mash some root vegetables, sauté some cruciform vegetable (cabbage, leek, broccoli, cauliflower) and mix it all together.

Long version …
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Posted in Holiday, Side | Tagged St. Patrick's Day, Undieting | 7 Comments