In the world of creativity, there is no room for the absolute. Being a creative process, cooking is no different. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard that I must cook dish X this way, and only this way, otherwise you don’t know what you are doing. If everyone followed along like this, then there would be very few ways to cook say, chicken for example.

Having a drink with my Aunt over vacation, she wanted me to have a try at this single malt scotch she received from a friend. I said OK, let me get a glass and some ice. Now she told me up and down that I must have it straight, no water as that is the only way to drink good scotch. Well, I basically said that I do not believe in such truisms. Enjoy things as you enjoy them, not as others. Could you imagine if we could only each ground beef as steak tartar? There would go the hamburger right there. In the end, I talked my Aunt into having it with ice, and I therefore enjoyed every minute of it.

I think the worst offenders are barbecue and chili cooks. They swear up and down that you can’t add say, tomatoes to chili for it to be “real chili” or you can’t add ketchup to a barbecue sauce for it – (More…)

My family and I just returned from our vacation in Boonville New York, deep in the heart of the Adirondacks. This is Black River Valley country and the home of my birth. Most of my family (on both sides) reside in the region and whenever I get a chance, I take the three hour trek upstate.

Last year about this time, my wife (fiance at the time) and I were up there getting ready to be married. The ceremony took place at my aunt Marjorie’s summer home that we like to call the riverhouse. It is a small camp style home resting right on top of the black river. In fact, you could sit on the back deck and cast a fishing line into the water if you wanted to. It is a perfect location and for those looking for rest and relaxation, the riverhouse is where you can find it.

We decided to spend another week there this year as my aunt invited us to stay there. After such a crazy year, it was a godsend. Nice warm days where the kids could play in the river, roam the shaded woods, or just look for childhood trouble were abundant. The nights were cool, but not cold, and usually we enjoyed a campfire outside and/or a fire on the hearth inside.

We entertained a few times while at the riverhouse. We had my aunt – (More…)

Usually this time of year, I have a few planters out with some tomato plants in them. Nothing major, just a few beefsteaks hanging hanging around. This year we decided to start a vegetable garden in a spot in the lawn that gets sun about 95% of the day. This required a lot of work removing the turf, turning the soil and adding fertilizer.

Since we are just getting started, I made the garden small, 10 X 10. This was enough for quite a few tomato plants (plum and beefsteak) along with some peppers and a row of cauliflower. In a bid to not rip up the lawn completely, I made it this small and if I feel the need to grow more, I tear more sod off.

Now it has been years since I had anything to do with gardening. It is a skill that decays over time and you forget the amount of work it takes. Now that I am done, I am glad I did not go much bigger. Next year we will expand that garden to include more vege’s but for now, this is a good start.

Now I got looking at my tomato plants and many of them already have fruit on the vine. I can see I am in for a lot of harvesting this year. If you add up all of the tomato plants in the – (More…)

As I wrote earlier this year, I started my kitchen herb garden. I did not plant them in the ground, but in several planters I purchased at a local Agway. These particular planters are about 2 feet long by 1 foot wide. They have a groove along the bottom that fits the railing on my front porch perfectly. You can get different planters for different size railings.

Depending on the herbs, you can pack quite a few in there. You do have to keep in mind that some herbs are a little more aggressive than others. In one planter, I have a spearmint plant that short of putting the entire thing in the oven, nothing can stop it. I prune it weekly even if I don’t need the herb right away. Since this is the case, I only planted two other plants (basil) along with it.

As you can see in the above photo, the planter closest to the camera shows what I mean. The mint plant in the center was brutally pruned just last week and it is already back in full force.

Dill is another herb that just grows like crazy.

Yes that big monstrosity in the center is the dill plant. I am about ready to whack it down as it is taking over the box. A good – (More…)

For me, this is the summer of the grill. My poor neglected stove barely cooks a meal anymore. Lately I have been trying different recipes for side dishes. I finally decided to start playing with grilling potatoes.

It has been my experience when it comes to potatoes on the grill, that many people just wrap them in foil and throw them on long before they cook the meat so they will be done in time. Well, sorry, that just bores the heck out of me.

After tinkering a bit, I came up with a simple recipe that will cook just a little longer than a steak and is at least 3 times more delicious (by all accounts) than plain old potatoes.

4-5 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed.
1 1/2 sprigs of rosemary, stem removed, lightly chopped.
About 8 – 10 sprigs of thyme, roughly chopped. (leave stems on).
1 tablespoon of salt.
About 15 turns of the pepper mill (fresh pepper).
3/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil.
1 small bag of baby red potatoes (about 20 potatoes).

In a large glass bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients except for the potatoes.

Cut the potatoes in half, if there are some really large baby potatoes, cut them into thirds. Add them to the glass bowl and toss completely into the marinade. Let sit at room temperature for at least 1/2 hour, stirring from time to time to make sure all the potatoes – (More…)

If you have ever been in upstate New York, around the Utica/Rome area for any period of time, chances are you have either heard of, or have eaten Chicken Riggies. How this dish came about is beyond me, but if I had to guess then I would say that this is the type of dish you get when you mix Irish, Italian, and German people together.

A conversation with your average cook from the area will usually yield a chicken riggies recipe. Personally, I have come across several different versions. There are many that are cream based, and there are many that are tomato based. In fact, there are a few that contain both. I myself prefer the tomato based versions. Really, this is like the difference between red or white clam chowder.   I also have a recipe for the white here.

Most of the recipes you will find though contain some common ingredients. These are chicken and rigatoni of course, and also some sort of jarred sweet peppers.

I have never really cooked it much before this week. You usually eat this at just about every get together, and if you have ever been to the North country, well, you know there are get togethers every week. Now that I live out of the region, I finally got my own recipe together. Of course, this will probably change over time, – (More…)

I know, I know, I haven’t been around much this week. It is a very busy one here. My stay at home job has turned more to a stay-online-in-the-office-all-day job lately. This doesn’t mean I haven’t been cooking it is just that I have lacked the time to create or remember anything new.

Honestly, I have just been cooking my normal recipes like you see here on the site because I haven’t had time to come up with anything new.

I do have some things in the pipeline that I will be working on to share as far as recipes go.

The herbs and tomatoes have been taking off. Since my home does not have a spigot, I have been watering a lot by hand. Since most of my plants are potted, this means I am watering every 2-3 days, especially the tomatoes. They just crave water.

I decided that I will probably move the single tomatoes into the ground even though I would rather not. It is cheaper than buying large planters, and the watering will be less. I will be keeping some of the ones in the larger pots where they are.

The herbs are working out just great. The only thing I am not really harvesting as I need it, is the rosemary. I am letting those plants grow a bit larger before I start pruning. It is so – (More…)

Sometimes when you are grilling, you need a little snack to help you and your guests along while they wait for the main dish. Lately I have been making grilled bread to serve with dishes, or as orderves. This usually consists of a unsliced thick country bread or Italian bread such as Ciabatta, cut in half and oiled. You then grill it and add whatever toppings you want to it.

I try to not just use any oil, but an infused one where the flavors will enhance the bread. One of my favorites is my Garlic and Rosemary infused olive oils that I spoke of earlier this week.

Garlic & Rosemary infused olive oil (click link for recipe).
1 loaf country bread (unsliced) or Italian such as Ciabatta.
Salt and pepper.
Fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

Preheat your grill to high.

Cut the loaf in half, lengthwise. Using a sauce brush, liberally brush the oil (and any pieces of garlic and rosemary in the oil) all over the cut side of the bread. Salt and pepper to taste.

Place the crust side of the bread on the grill and cook about a minute until toasty. Flip and grill the other side about another minute until toasted. Watch for flare-ups as the olive oil drips.

Remove from grill and sprinkle with the cheese. Add a few drops of the oil over the bread for extra flavor (omit any garlic or rosemary – (More…)

As much as I love the flavor of extra virgin olive oil, there are times when you want a little more flavor. Infusing the oil can add a variety of tastes. When you infuse an oil you add herb and/or spices to the oil, heat it lightly and then chill. The flavors you added will meld with the oil.

Infused oils are great for when you want to top ingredients with a kick of flavor. Although you can cook with infused oils, they are primarily used as dressings.

One of my favorite infused oils is extra virgin olive oil infused with garlic and rosemary. I generally make small batches designed to last me a couple weeks. The ingredients added to the oils can sometimes go bad after sitting for a while, but refrigerated, you should get at least two weeks safely.

4 cloves of garlic, smashed, and minced.
1 sprig of rosemary, stem removed, lightly chopped.
3/4 – 1 cup of olive oil.

In a very small sauce pan, add all of the ingredients.

Here is the tricky part. You want to heat the oil slowly to a medium low heat. Just when bubbles start to appear in the oil and it looks like it may start frying the garlic any minute, remove from the heat. Do NOT cook the garlic or rosemary.

Cover the pan and let cool until room temperature for about an hour. It is – (More…)

It is no secret that one of cornerstones to great cooking is the quality of ingredients. Much of what you learn stresses the importance of fresh and different ingredients. This in itself is not a myth. However, the fact that you have to spend a lot more to obtain these items could not be farther from the truth.

Professional chefs are no different than other artists out there. They are always trying to come up with something new, and for this reason you notice trends when it comes to ingredients. Years ago when you went to make chili, most of the recipes you found contained similar pepper arrangements. Today, if you counted all of the peppers in the top one hundred chili recipes, it would probably top three hundred different kinds of peppers.

For some reason, when people see others using exotic or hard to get ingredients, they feel their time tested recipes no longer match up. This simply is not true. In Italian cooking, many recipes have remained unchanged for hundreds of years yet you still find them being served in many of the new bleeding edge restaurants.

Now I am not saying that you should avoid quality ingredients. Of course not, but realize that you can still create great dishes using common ones.

Of course, you can also take the time to acquire these things on your own. I spoke with a – (More…)