David Joachim has written, edited or collaborated on more than 30 cookbooks, including the Food Substitutions Bible and A Man, A Can, A Grill. With Andrew Schloss, he co-authored Mastering the Grill and The Science of Good Food. Find more about David at his website.

Sweet or salty?

Both, of course! And preferably sour, bitter and umami. Multiple flavors are what make food taste dynamic. But if I were on an island and could only choose one…it’d have to be salty.

Which ingredient(s) do you use most?

The ones in front of me. But I tend to gravitate toward bold, concentrated flavors like those in sundried tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, sriracha hot sauce, dried porcini mushrooms, mustard, white truffles, fish sauce, maple syrup, horseradish…If I had to list the one ingredient I use most, it would have to be eggs.

What’s the cooking sound you most love?

Sizzle

What’s your favorite cooking smell?

Yeast and fresh dough. Read the rest of this entry »

Layering flavors makes even the simplest dishes taste more complex, full and round — like you spent a lot more time making them than you did. One of the best techniques for layering flavors is to use different parts of the same plant in a single dish.

Fennel is the subject of the next Root Source and an excellent candidate for layering because we eat its seeds, bulb and fronds. Each of those flavors are redolent of anise, but different enough that together they make a more complete chord of fennel flavor than when you use just one.

Take this simple braised fennel with lemon (inspired by Alice Waters):

Read the rest of this entry »

What is the difference between stock and broth?

The two terms are often used interchangeably but retain an aura of cloudiness like the unskimmed foam on a simmering pot of stock or broth. (Or, as above, the congealed fat on a bowl of cooled chicken stock.)

Find out the whole story — plus answers to other burning questions — in the reference section of Cookthink.com.

Reference: What is the difference between stock and broth? (Cookthink)

Cookthink’s mission is to help make it easier to cook everyday meals at home. And with the economic downturn now official, our thoughts often turn to soup. Starting this week, we are pleased to welcome a new column devoted to making nourishing, budget-stretching homemade soups by Domenica Marchetti, a food writer, recipe developer and cooking teacher who specializes in seasonal Italian home cooking and the author of The Glorious Soups and Stews of Italy (Chronicle Books, 2006). Visit her web site at www.domenicacooks.com. You can find more of her recipes here.

Some people dream in Technicolor, or in a foreign language. I dream in soup. I can’t begin to count the number of times that an inspiration for a new soup, or a craving for a familiar one, has snuck up on me while I slept. Or the many nights when I have fallen asleep to thoughts of simmering pots of stock, or a colorful mix of lentils and vegetables, or a sweet purée of carrots and aromatic herbs.

It is no accident that soups (and their heartier cousin, stew) were the subject of my first cookbook, The Glorious Soups and Stews of Italy. Soup was the first solid food that I ate. Even before I had teeth, my Italian mother fed me bowls of semolina or pastina — tiny pasta stars cooked in chicken broth — a dish I still eat at least once a week for lunch, and which my 10-year-old daughter regularly brings to school for lunch in a thermos.
Read the rest of this entry »

There are lots of people around my house over the holidays who like to nibble on something sweet. This variation on a classic peanut brittle is delicious; it shines darkly of chocolate with specks of white slivered almonds.

But be warned: It is hard. Don’t give it to those with failing or baby teeth. Everyone else seems to enjoy it.

Recipe: Microwaved Chocolate-Almond Brittle (Barbara Kafka)

I always pick up a few good tricks when I watch Lidia Bastianich’s cooking shows.

One of the most useful techniques I’ve learned from watching Lidia’s Italy is how to make a “hot spot” — basically an empty spot among the ingredients already in a pan — before I add things like tomato paste, garlic, shallots, chiles and spices. The hot spot gives those ingredients direct contact with the bottom of the pan, caramelizing them and developing complex flavor that carries over into the finished dish.

When making a tomato-based pasta sauce, for example, start by sautéeing the sauce’s main ingredients — say, mushrooms and green onions — in olive oil. When it’s time to add the tomato paste to the pan, clear a spot with a spoon, add the tomato paste, and stir it around on its own for a minute or so before incorporating it into the other ingredients in the pan. This is also a good way to add a sweet nuttiness to garlic and shallots, and temper the raw flavor of flour and ground spices.

Carla Snyder is a writer and culinary instructor who has co-written four cookbooks with Meredith Deeds, including Big Book of Appetizers; The Take-Out Menu Cookbook: How to Cook In the Foods You Love to Order Out; 300 Sensational Soups; as well as the forthcoming Little Black Dress Cookbook: Stylish Versatile Recipes Every Cook Should Have in Their Culinary Closet. You can see some of their recipes here.

Sweet or salty?

Sweet

Which ingredient(s) do you use most?

Olives

What’s the cooking sound you most love?

Sizzling butter.

What’s your favorite cooking smell?

Garlic Read the rest of this entry »

Meredith Deeds is the food editor for Better Health and Living Magazine and a cooking teacher and cookbook author who has co-written four cookbooks with Carla Snyder, including Big Book of Appetizers; The Take-Out Menu Cookbook: How to Cook In the Foods You Love to Order Out; 300 Sensational Soups; as well as the forthcoming Little Black Dress Cookbook: Stylish Versatile Recipes Every Cook Should Have in Their Culinary Closet. You can see some of their recipes here.

Sweet or salty?

I prefer the one-two punch of the salty/sweet combo, but if I have to choose one it would be salty.

Which ingredient(s) do you use most?

Extra-virgin olive oil and salt. I always have several different bottles of olive oil in my kitchen to use for different things from sautéing to salads to drizzling over grilled fish. I do the same with different types of salts. I always have half a dozen I’m playing with at any one time.

What’s the cooking sound you most love?

The sizzle of a sauté pan.

What’s your favorite cooking smell?

Peppers roasting on an open flame. Read the rest of this entry »

Hair of the Dog is Cookthink’s Monday morning cocktail column by Rob Chirico, the author of the Field Guide to Cocktails. Read more about Rob here.

Apart from the Monkey Gland, Grog may be my favorite moniker for a drink. In its earliest incarnation, Grog was merely a mixture of hot rum and water with an occasional sprinkling of spices. Since then, every pirate worth his salt, or every old salt worth his pirate, has come with a worthy variation.

Thus, whence the name, you ask?
Read the rest of this entry »

We’re off early today for the holiday weekend and look forward to seeing you again here next week. In the meantime, wishing everyone a happy holiday — and if you find yourself in need of a last-minute Thanksgiving recipe, a quick how-to about how to roast a turkey, make a brine or prep green beans, Cookthink.com is on call to help.

Related: Planning Ahead For Leftover Turkey (Cookthink blog)
Related: Root Source: Turkey (Cookthink)