As a Chef, I chop a lot of fruits and vegetables and therefore create a large amount of food scraps. I feel bad just throwing them into the garbage because food waste accounts for 30% of landfill in the US and creates a large amount of methane. I also enjoy gardening and grow herbs, vegetables, and flowers in my spare time. The dirt around my house is not very nutrient rich (city dirt is not the rich black soil of the farmlands I grew up in) and I have had trouble getting some of my plants to grow. I don’t want to fertilize them with un-natural fertilizers and harm the Earth, so it was a logical thing for me to begin composting. Now I can make my own fertilizer and nutrient rich soil and in doing so, keep my food scraps out of the garbage. Continue Reading…

Recently I made my first batch of homemade Limoncello. Limoncello is an Italian liquor made with grain alcohol or 100 proof vodka infused with lemon zest and sweetened with a sugar syrup. It is best when served well chilled and can be an aperitif or dessert liquor. Continue Reading…

For a while now, I’ve been wanting to make my own limoncello, to see if I could make a more-flavorful, less expensive homemade version than store-bought brands. Limoncello is an Italian liquor made with grain alcohol or 100 proof vodka infused with lemon zest and sweetened with a sugar syrup. It is best when served well chilled and can be an aperitif or dessert liquor.

Continue Reading…

Many of my family and friends ask my advice on how to buy knives for their kitchen. The 3 most basic knives are the Chef’s or Santoku, Paring, and Bread knives. There are 6 important things to look for when buying knives.

Continue Reading…

My husband, David, recently took a business trip to Europe. I’ve always dreamed of going to Europe and I haven’t had the chance yet. As consolation, David promised to bring me back a truffle from France. He visited family friends in Paris who have a second home in the country. At the farm, they have a tree that frequently harbors black truffles buried in the dirt underneath. Continue Reading…

I have been dreaming about caramel for a few months now and caramel apples just have not satisfied the craving. So the other day I made cinnamon caramel squares with smoked sea salt on top. I have made the recipe before many times before and most times they are perfect but sometimes… Continue Reading…

The other day I was shopping at Whole Foods for my client and I passed by a shelf of honey. As I stared at a jar of golden honey with the comb, my mouth started watering. I had to remind myself that I already have at least 5 varieties of honey at home! So here (in no particular order) are more of my biggest temptations at the grocery store.

Cheese I am a sucker for cheese. It is really tough to pass by a fancy cheese counter without picking up a wedge of creamy brie, blue, manchego, fresh mozzarella…I could go on and on. My current favorite is Delice de Bourgogne, available at Whole Foods, Pastoral, and many other good cheese shops.

Continue Reading…

As I was making Christmas cookies the other day, I remembered the hundreds of cookies that my grandparents used to make every year. With my grandpa’s help my grandma would mix up sugar cookie shapes, labchuckens, springerles, molasses crinkles, peanut butter cookies with a Hershey’s kiss, snowballs and more. She also made candy. There was peanut brittle, pink and white divinity, coconut bonbons and toffee. Continue Reading…

I was pretty satisfied with the winner of Top Chef, Las Vegas. My top four were all there until the end so I was excited to see who would come out on top. Don’t worry – I won’t spoil the fun for all of you who are behind on your DVR, but here is why I liked the top four. Who were your favorites?

Kevin – I really liked that he celebrated sustainable food and repeatedly recreated his favorite ingredients – fish and pork. But, above all, I think he did a good job of making “simple” food delicious. Continue Reading…

My husband, David, and I opted to stay in this Valentine’s Day. We made a very nice dinner of fancy salamis, cheeses and wine. Then we finished the meal with a dessert that we made together.

It seems that staying in and making dinner at home has become more popular lately. I hear that my friends and clients would rather stay in, and I have seen the trend promoted on reality TV, magazines, and blogs. It probably has a lot to do with the economy. If you have the time and skill to cook at home, it can be done less expensively than going out to a nice restaurant. And some people are just tired of dealing with the crowds, especially on a holiday such as Valentine’s Day. Continue Reading…