Charm City Cook
Food is good
I’m not usually one to have very strong opinions about how a particular thing SHOULD be made. Rather, I think you should eat what you want, how you want. Except maybe for the BLT. So, yeah, I wouldn’t necessarily call them rules, but this is how I like mine. Cheap white bread. I like toasting …
If you know me — or at least the social media me — you know that Ina Garten taught me how to cook. And so did Martha Stewart, The Kitchn, America’s Test Kitchen, Mark Bittman, Julia Child and others. All white people. I never noticed that until recently, like really recently. And while they …
I’ve been trying to wrap my head around this whole quarantine thing. Trying to write something meaningful or helpful. But I just keep writing sappy notes about the places and people I miss. So, I’m going with that. I miss Old Fashioneds at Lobo and Manhattans at Peter’s Inn, Negronis at Sugarvale. Martinis at La …
Cooking on the fly. Riffing. Making it work. Pantry (or freezer, fridge) dive cooking is something I really only started doing once I became a confident cook. But seriously, there is so much trial and error involved, I’m not sure why I didn’t start sooner. Making something fast when you are tired, when you are …
How you like your eggs is a very personal thing. I like mine barely runny, kinda jammy. Some people can’t handle a runny yolk, some only like their eggs scrambled. Omelets, poached, quiche…the egg is a versatile ingredient. And eggs — like a Caesar salad or roast chicken — can be a good litmus test …
The reverse sear. I first heard about a chef friend who suggested I try it. He explained with great enthusiasm how it worked and how amazing the steak would be. This was via text, as is with chefs, and he was USING ALL CAPS. So, immediately tried it and it was great, but then I’d …
Roast chicken. I love you so much. And you really made me a cook. Here’s the thing. Just the idea of cooking a whole chicken scared the tar outta me. But, how do I even handle the thing? How do I get it to cook evenly? What if I give someone salmonella? Me, carve it? …
I never met any of my grandparents. But, every time my mom was about to have a baby – which was a lot – her mother would buy her dresses for a little girl. My mom proceeded to have six boys. Then, finally, my mother had me on June 16, 1967. My grandmother, Mary Fitzpatrick, …
Yep, here they are, finally. My brownies, which became a little bit of a sensation a few years back. I loved making them and then, a few years in, they took over my life — my weekends and evenings, anyway. People have asked me over and over, will you ever sell your brownies again? The …
