by David Salerno | May 17, 2023 | Blog, Cooking Tips and Tricks, Culinary Anthropology
This “Holy Trinity” is the mirepoix of Louisiana Cajun and Creole cooking. So how did we get here? The French settlers of the region came with their mirepoix of carrot, onion and celery. Chances are, while both the carrot and bell pepper were capable of...
by David Salerno | May 5, 2023 | Blog, Cooking Tips and Tricks
This last weekend I was driving to Montana for a hockey tournament when I saw a sign on the side of the road for “the best marionberry milkshake.” While I didn’t stop and try it, the sign grabbed my attention and made me dig a little deeper into what...
by David Salerno | May 4, 2023 | Blog, Cooking Tips and Tricks, Culinary Anthropology
Lifting the cloche on another piece of food history, this week we discuss the origins of Alfredo sauce. At first glance this sauce may beg the question, “is this sauce even Italian?” Noodles with butter and cheese? Sure, but it’s a far cry from the...
by David Salerno | May 3, 2023 | Blog, Cooking Tips and Tricks, Culinary Anthropology
We’re going back to our butchery class to answer the question, what is ham? I can tell you that growing up, a lot of the families I knew would have ham on Easter, and I can also tell you that most would have ham without knowing the reasoning behind it. Ham is...
by David Salerno | May 2, 2023 | Blog, Cooking Tips and Tricks
How and why would you use these to thicken a soup, sauce, or stew? I still have nightmares thinking about calling 30 seconds out from a meal being delivered to the pass and knowing my sauce would never thicken to the right consistency in time. A good...
by David Salerno | May 1, 2023 | Blog, Cooking Tips and Tricks
Brown food tastes good. Put simply, the Maillard reaction occurs at 250F and above, and is a when the amino acids and sugars in food react to the heat. The most obvious sign of the reaction is the browning that happens to food. The...
