Jedi Kitchen Tricks

Good gracious! Who left the mop running? – Flora (Sleeping Beauty)

This weekend I finally got around to getting the big barrel grill up and running for the season. For the first time out this season we picked some St. Louis cut spareribs we had in the freezer.

I pulled the ribs out of their Cryovac, wipe them with paper towel and applied a nice layer of my favorite dry rub across all surfaces. I set my woodchips (pecan) and herb stems to soaking and started a lump charcoal fire with my chimney starter. I got all my tools prepared.

And then I brought out my mop.

The Spice Shelf

Variety's the very spice of life, That gives it all its flavour. - William Cowper

The Spice Shelf is a random selection from amongst the useless potpourri that inhabit my skull.

One of the adjustments I had to make when I first made Buffalo my home, more jarring than adjusting to the needless insertion of the article “the” before route numbers,  was comprehending that it was a far more Catholic place then any place I had lived before. This is not said in judgment, but rather as an observation of reality. News of the Church lives on the front page of the newspaper, and the Friday Fish Fry has achieved totemic proportions.

Reflections on a Frozen Pizza

Hey kool aid and frozen pizza / It's a work of art I ain't talkin Mona Lisa - Mac Miller

We knew that last Sunday was going to be a “lazy day”. I had spent the previous day “Masoning”, Scottish Rite in the morning and reliving my past by participating in the installation of a friend’s son for DeMolay in the evening. Trish was at the annual Gala at Shea's.

We knew both of us were going to get less sleep than we usually got. We knew that Sunday we would be tired and planned accordingly.

As dinner approached it was obvious that cooking wasn’t going to be in the mix; at least serious cooking. Under these circumstances we would often choose takeout pizza, but Ellie and her friends had one the night before. As no one in this house ever objects to pizza, we went to the backup plan of pita pizza.

How To Cook Meat Well Every Time!

"Was this well done of your lady, Charmion?" "Extremely well," she answered, "and as became the descendant of so many kings" – Plutarch

My friend Chris Taylor, proprietor of the Roaming Buffalo food truck, once commented that cooking an item to well done is hard. Not to call Chris wrong, but he is. Happens often. Cooking an item well done is relatively easy if done by the proper technique, and for a special occasion it is well worth any extra effort.

For me no food item says “special occasion” more than the center cut of the beef tenderloin commonly known as Filet Mignon or Châteaubriand. A whole beef tenderloin, commonly known as NAMP 189(A), for NAMP Industries – the nation’s largest producer of packaged meat products and toiletries, is easy to find at your local butcher, wholesale club or bodega.

But, as this is for a special event might I humbly suggest investing in a pasture raised, all-natural slab of meat, such as those offered by D'Artagnan. It is well worth the extra cost.

Reviewing the Situation

The highway is replete with culinary land mines disguised as quaint local restaurants that carry such reassuring names as Millie's, Pop's and Capt'n Dick's. - Bryan Miller

On Thursday, March 21, 2013 a restaurant review under the byline of Andrew Z. Galarneau, Food Editor of The Buffalo News, appeared in the weekly Gusto section of the paper. That review was of a local outpost of a national chain.


The food world did not burst into flames.

I thought the review was a hoot.

Others disagreed.

Let’s get this out of the way.  I have made my feelings about restaurant reviews plain here and elsewhere. Also, Andrew is a friend. Whatever limited insights that may have given me have been overtaken his recent writings in the News. He has let us know his thinking about the job of a restaurant reviewer, and his job in particular.

When a friend asked me what I thought about this review I said that I found it quite humorous. He did not share that sentiment and apparently others agreed. His objections were centered, on the fact that a national chain is not a local restaurant and should not be given what amounts to free advertising. My response was simply “it is here, and it is a restaurant”. That response seems a bit trite in hindsight. So I will attempt to address my thoughts on this matter in an open letter to that friend.

My Mommys Brisket - Redux

No matter how much you revisit the past...there’s nothing new to see. -Robert Tew

One of the most important lessons that any cook, particularly a self-taught cook, has to learn is that a recipe is just somebody’s opinion. As James Beard put it, “it’s always a good idea to follow the directions exactly the first time you try a recipe. But from then on, you’re on your own.” Inspiration, improvisation and even whimsy are the hallmarks of a good cook, and what makes cooking something fun to do.

Even my mommy’s brisket recipe, a hallmark of our family holiday celebrations, has gone through some changes at my hand. But, this year’s brisket was cooked in a really cool way.

I cooked it sous vide.

In A Pickle

On a hot day in Virginia, I know nothing more comforting than a fine spiced pickle, brought up trout-like from the sparkling depths of the aromatic jar below the stairs of Aunt Sally's cellar. - Thomas Jefferson.

I have often mentioned The Sausage Maker, Inc. in terms of how lucky we are to have this resource in Buffalo. They are not only a resource in terms of equipment and supplies, but also as a source for information.

It was that which brought me there, seeking background for a Buffalo Rising article. We chatted on the subject at hand, I took some photographs, and we chatted some more. It was then that I noticed the gizmo.

The Perfect Pickler, encased in plastic, hanging from a rack. I had neither heard of it nor had any idea of how it worked. I was intrigued. We chatted about it for a while, and was surprised (and pleased) to be presented one to test out.