When you think of garnish, you probably picture a sprig of parsley or mint, a sad radish rose, a carrot curl, or doodle of sauce, or some barely edible flower that has decorated plates for a hundred years – and still does in some quarters. If so, I'm guessing you don't spend a lot of …
I’ve been cooking pretty seriously for 25 years now, and in the process I’ve had the opportunity to watch lots of other people in the kitchen. I’ve learned something from everyone I’ve ever cooked with, and also noticed certain patterns. The folks that are confident enough to relax and have fun in the kitchen have …
As a vegetarian, one of the things I hear all the time is “I’d like to eat less meat, but I just don’t know how to plan a vegetarian meal.” Without the familiar routine of building a plate with meat at the center, many perfectly competent cooks find themselves at a loss for how to make …
Ilan Hall's Top Chef Fideos
I'm an avid fan of Top Chef. Our family has a standing date to watch it on TiVO every week. Of the cooking reality shows (Next Food Network Star, Hell's Kitchen and so on), it is the only one that features people who can really cook, and spends most of the …
– Chef Michel Richard, Happy in the Kitchen
Read the Series
Salt
Acid
Fat
Crunch
A Telling Failure
I couldn’t agree more with Chef Richard. Properly crispy latkes, the well-browned cheese atop lasagna, a simple but crispy corn quesadilla, or good homemade breadcrumbs on a rich gratin are great favorites of mine.
And in contrast to those dry, shattering crunchy bits, there …
So I came home with some kumquats, and, in the mood to just play with a fun ingredient, set about creating an . I never meant it to be part of this series, but that’s how it worked out.
Read the Series
Salt
Acid
Fat
Crunch
A Telling Failure
If you aren’t familiar with them, an amuse is just what it sounds …
I’m not the first person to observe that Americans have a crazy, conflicted relationship to fat. We love it, and eat far more of it than probably just about any other country in the world. God knows we have the obesity epidemic to show for it. At the same time, we fear it mightily, speaking …
