Grilling & Cooking

With the weather cooling down a little bit, I think it’s a good time to discuss a little heartier beer than the lagers we like to drink in the summer. This time, I’m going with a local brew, the Hollywood Brewing company Bushka Stout. As usual with these reviews, I’ll talk about the beer generally a little bit. Then, I’ll go over my tasting procedures to get the most out of it, before making some recommendations on food pairings and my overall impressions. Based in Hollywood, Florida...

With the weather in a lot of the Northern hemisphere getting cooler and wetter, now is a good time to take a look at some foods that will help shake off the chills. Here, I’m going to walk you through ten of my fall and winter favorites. Where I am in Miami, it’s been unseasonably cold and wet, and I’ve also been extremely busy with a teaching schedule. So the focus here will be on things that are fairly easy to put together as well as seriously hearty. Instead of full recipes, some of...

As an academic, I think my blood-caffeine content, most of the time, is well above what the FDA would consider being a good idea. But, all of my experience with coffee has led me to try to get to a cup of coffee that is good, cheap, gets me up in the morning, and doesn’t take too much time out of my day. Here, I want to make the case for pour-over coffee as a method that will substantially improve your morning brew, add some flexibility to your coffee choices, and save you a good bit of...

With the weather finally cooling down a bit, it’s a great time to start considering heartier spirits. This week at my local liquor store, the guys behind the counter recommend Einstock’s Toasted porter. As usual for my reviews, I’ll go over the maker of the spirit first. From there, I get into my tasting notes on the drink, and, finally, conclude with some notes on how I plan to enjoy it. Porters are a generally dark beer that comes in at a little higher alcohol content than, say, a Lager...

Taking this series in a somewhat new direction, I’m taking a look at a beer this week. Specifically, I want to consider craft beers that you can still find in your local stores without too much effort. That way, this isn’t just some academic exercise, and you can try these out for yourself. As usual, I’ll start with some information about the drink. From there, I’ll jump into tasting procedures, which are a little different between beer and spirits. After that, I’ll offer some of my...

As a home chef, I’ll maintain that it’s way more about skills and effort than it is about spending money. But, as you develop your skills, you will begin to outgrow the gear you have and might find yourself looking for some new stuff to upgrade in the kitchen. Here, I’ll offer ten things that have helped me improve my culinary results, and why I’ve made the leap on each of them to get better meals consistently.

Today, I’m doing something new and reviewing a Tequila. In particular, Tequila Mi Campo’s Reposado. Despite this being a new kind of spirit for these reviews, the format will be essentially the same. I’m excited to branch out this review series: you can read it as a kind of guide to building your at-home-bar I’ll start the review with a little bit about the brand and the drink, followed by my procedure for tasting to try and be consistent across spirits. From there, I’ll offer my tasting...

I was supposed to do a tequila review this week. That was the plan until I walked into my local liquor store (try to support small businesses when you can) and was presented with a truly phenomenal deal on Kraken rum, which was being offered one a buy-one, get-one deal. Not being one to turn up my nose at a free bottle of rum, here we are. Tequila will come next week, I promise! As always, with these, I start off with what knowledge I can find out about the spirit. From there, I walk...

You may have succumbed to the griddle craze that’s taking over the wish lists of backyard chefs, or maybe you’re old school and are sticking to the propane or charcoal grill. Either way, there are some tools you’ll need to impress anyone that will be eating your creations.

As you all know by now, I love cooking. I’ve also been blessed in life with an Argentine partner who loves red meat and red wine. When you combine my hobby with her love of the good things in life, I have the opportunity to experiment and make some awesome food. These short ribs are now, by far, my favorite way to consume beef. A brief note for my fellow Americans: these ribs are not what you usually think of when you think ribs. Instead of long-way cut racks of ribs, beef short ribs are...

One of my favorite dishes at Chinese restaurants has always been egg drop soup. Especially with some Crab Rangoons, it’s one of the better appetizers in the good industry, at least in my opinion. But, most home chefs don’t bother trying to make it themselves. Today, I’m going to walk you through making egg drop soup that stands up well even to restaurant quality, and you’ll see that it’s pretty simple. First, we’ll start with ingredients, then walk through the process, and I’ll wrap up...

With summer in full swing, it’s barbecue season for sure. Authentic barbecue is usually done in a smoker and should take all day. For most of us, that makes doing it well at home pretty hard, since we have neither a smoker nor the time to stand by one all day. But, it’s still possible to get excellent barbecue results at home. I’ve worked out a technique that uses a slow cooker and I think comes out excellent every time. The work with this one is upfront, but if you take the time for it...

In this series of whisky reviews, I give my impressions of some widely available whiskies so that you can get some idea of new things you might want to try. Today, I’m reviewing Tullamore Dew’s green label Irish Whisky. As usual, I’ll start off with a bit of history on the product and the company. Following that, we’ll walk through my tasting procedure and notes. To wrap things up, I make some recommendations on how I’d choose to drink this Irish whisky, and end with some final thoughts on...

One of my favorite foods is, of course, chicken wings. But, sadly, my love of wings sometimes conflicts with my want to eat healthily. Since most restaurants deep fry their wings, the sheer amount of calories from a plate of wings can end up pretty staggering. I’m not willing to give up on wings entirely, so, I’ve been working on a way to make wings that is at least somewhat healthier and, most importantly, is at least as good as those that you get at a restaurant. So, here is my take on...

If you go into any liquor store in the country, right now, you will find Jim Beam. It is, in many ways, an introductory whisky. As a bourbon, it has a bold flavor profile and can be a little bit intimidating for some palettes, but the fact that it can be found, affordably, at nearly any place where liquor is sold, makes it one of the classics. Here, I’ll briefly cover the history of the brand and the product. From there, I’ll offer some of my ideas in terms of tasting notes as well as the...

Thankfully, the world is going back to normal in a lot of places. For some folks, that means a long-awaited return to the office. As someone who likes to cook, this poses another challenge to me. Without a full kitchen and dishwasher, can I keep up with my enjoyment of healthy lunches? There’s going to be some desire, I’m sure, to go back to fast-food or uninspired lunches that we all remember from the days when office work was the norm for most of us. But, I think we can do better. So...

Today, I’m here with the third entry in our whisky review series. This time, I’m looking at Four Roses Bourbon. If you’re following along in the series, you know the drill. For the new people, I start with a brief history of the whisky so we have a better idea of where it’s coming from. Then, I give you my tasting notes on the drink. To round things out, I make some suggestions on how I would choose to drink it, but, as always, remember that the key to whisky, is to drink what you like, how...

Today, I’m here with our second whisky review, this time looking at Grant's Cask Editions Blended Scotch. Last time, I took a look at Maker’s Mark, an American Bourbon. The world of whisky is a wide one, however, and we’re immediately jumping across the pond to Scotland. While I don’t plan to stick to any one kind of whisky in these- in fact, I plan to try as many as possible- I do plan on sticking to whiskies that are accessible in terms of both availability and price. My philosophy is...

I’m excited for this one: we’re starting what we aim to be a series of whisky reviews. In each of them, I’ll start with a very brief history of the subject of the review. Then, I’ll get right into it and offer you my opinions on the taste of the whisky: this is going to be subjective, but that’s the name of the game when it comes to reviewing whisky. Finally, I’ll offer my thoughts on the best way to enjoy that particular whisky. Without further adieu, let’s get right to it. Maker’s Mark is...

With the weather getting warmer, it’s about time to change up the menu for your home cooking, which a lot of folks have gotten into for the past year. Here, I want to go over ten of my favorite summer meals. Instead of offering in-depth recipes for each, I’ll give the idea, a description of what I do, and then let you take care of portions and seasoning for your own needs and tastes. Much of my cooking is for one or two, so general proportions will make a lot more sense than trying to make...