March 11, 2010

I wanted fries with that

Polite society dictates that one should not publicly discuss personal stuff such as religion and politics. It makes some people uncomfortable. I've got some pretty strong convictions on food politics, and the way I see it, lots of folks are getting downright religious about what and how they eat. ...

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February 11, 2010

Post-Big Game Big Game

The collective wistful sigh of angst at the close of another football season might be powerful enough to push that wacky jet stream out of Texas altogether, if only we could all sigh in the same direction. So what's a rabid fan supposed to do with the weekend now that only wimpy winter sports like ...

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January 10, 2010

El Lay--Hoo Ray

For the next few months I'll be blogging about food from Los Angeles. I sort of lucked into a reprieve from the bitter New York winter and have found myself living in la-la land. I'm at the point in my schooling where a five-month externship is required. Most of my classmates are slaving ...

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December 11, 2009

Sure Glad We Didn't Step In It

You may have guessed from the tone of some of these blogged diatribes that I am generally down on the corporate entities that control our food supply. You would be correct. I truly believe that Monsanto, Conagra, IBP, McDonalds, and other fast food purveyors have changed for the worse just about every ...

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November 23, 2009

Thanksgiving Pornucopia

The Holidays are officially upon us, and those among us who are highly skilled, trained, and motivated food professionals must gird up our loins and steel ourselves for the coming tsunami of demanding diners, finicky eaters, persnickety food prejudices, those with special dietary needs due to physical ...

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November 01, 2009

What's Love Got to Do With It?

My last entry on this tainted subject matter dealt with an attempt to define a narrow perception of food-porn, which included well deserved jabs at impossible to replicate dishes pictured in upscale cookbooks and popular programs on the Food Network. I must confess that, like many of the readers ...

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September 13, 2009

Blood, Sweat, and Beers

I guess it was my old cooking buddy, Steve, who first uttered the kitchen maxim that I've tried to live by. It goes, "Heat burns, sharp will cut you, and pain...well--it really hurts." There's a lot of truth in those words. The kitchen is a dangerous place that's full of sharp objects, heat in various ...

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August 18, 2009

Food Memories

I have a confession to make--yes, I'm going to come clean right now. In that long ago time before fast food when I was a kid, I was one of the finickiest of finicky eaters, and my mom and both grandmothers spoiled me rotten. If it had any form of onion in it I avoided it like it was radioactive. Casseroles ...

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July 24, 2009

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

I know this title is cornier than Aunt Loretta's pinky toe, but let me tell you, it's a good idea to check your student e-mail--especially over school holidays. In a fit of worry that I had improperly parked my Volkswagen in the wrong spot when I departed Hyde Park, I checked my e-mail last Thursday ...

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July 18, 2009

Pea-Owed About Produce

Last week in San Miguel I was drafted into dinner party duty for what turned out to be quite a crowd. I had prepped for eight diners so, of course, nine showed up--and that was just the first shift. After the first set of guests departed another late-night nine showed up unexpectedly to polish off the ...

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