Michael Ruhlman's Blog, page 10

Rip’s Tarragon Butter Baste

My dad and me, circa 1969. Today is my long gone father’s birthday. I want to say Hi to him, and to honor the Grace of this day. And I do so with food, which so often was the ultimate means of connection for us. He loved to grill, and he created what is still my favorite baste, for grilled chicken: a simple mustard-tarragon-butter sauce. I start it be squeezing lime into a pan and using the beurre monte technique, swirling cold butter into it. This keeps the butter homogenized and somewhat viscous so that it adheres to the chicken when you baste. It’s tart and piquant from the lime and mustard; the shallots give it sweetness and texture; and the tarragon adds its ineluctable ethereal grace notes. He shared a birthday with F. Scott Fitzgerald who Read On »

Cooking for One: Sesame Noodles

  When I began living in a 400-square-foot studio apartment in New York City’s West Village a year ago, I lost my cooking mojo. I had about three dishes I’d cook—stir-fried beef, curried chicken, steak or chop with sautéed potatoes and spinach—and the rest of the home meals were takeout form Mrs. Green’s on Hudson Street. But during a call with my therapist, she asked if I was cooking. I said, No, not much, though I used to cook all the time. She said, I think you might feel better if you spent more time cooking. She was right. So I have determined to cook more. And I’ve turned back to books to jumpstart my imagination. I looked first to Joe Yonan‘s Serve Yourself, a cooking-for-one book. Are these inherently unhappy books? No, but the book Vegan Cooking for One Read On »

Web Log 2.0

September has always felt like the actual start of the year so, after a long hiatus from this space, I return. I began blogging in 2006 after Megnut invited me to post on her site. Blogs mushroomed then, spawning numerous books and even a movie. Now, I’m not sure where they are or who reads them. Am I wrong in thinking that there are fewer now and that people are spending their time reading more established sites such as Serious Eats, The Kitchn, and Food 52? I’ve been through a tumultuous year. I and Donna, my wife of 25 years and the photographer of so much on this site and in books, have divorced. I reside, at least for now, in New York City’s West Village. I’ve completed the next book, about grocery stores and the buying Read On »

Charcuterie App Launch

  Today, I’d like to introduce our new subscription app called Charcuterie, a messaging app that aims not only to facilitate conversation and serve as a forum to answer questions people have about curing and preserving food, but one that will offer education, reliable reporting, and vivid storytelling. All of it led by myself and my partner in Charcuterie, chef Brian Polcyn, including many other chefs and experts as well. We want our content to inspire conversation and also to encourage people to cook and to cure. We’re using a messaging app because, in its simplicity, it enables anyone to participate and do so easily, either publicly or in private conversations. Interaction promotes learning, and conversation builds relationships. We wouldn’t be able to do this if we didn’t think it could be self-sustaining and profitable, but we’re Read On »

Evolution

I recently wrote an essay for Thomas Keller’s magazine Finesse, for an issue themed evolution. Having worked so closely with Keller over the past twenty years, I asked to write about his evolution, as I’ve always been fascinated by it and wrote about it in Soul of a Chef. He’s still the same, but not the same. He’s evolving. Some things stay the same, some things must change. The salmon tartare in a savory tuile has been on the menu since day one. It was my first bite at the most memorable meal of my life on July 14th, 1997 (I read the scene here if you want to listen to it.) Other dishes vanish to be replaced by new ones. Having written the essay and wanting to return to per se, which took a Read On »

Ruhlman Classic: Chocolate Chip Cookie Bowl

  I’m on a serious deadline to finish a book tentatively titled Food Chain, thus so many posts drawn from the past. This is one of my favorites. But I can’t believe how much time has passed and how different life is. The 10-year-old boy in the picture is now a lanky young man who looks me in the eye and is about to turn 17. Happily, the childhood pleasures of eating ice cream out of a chocolate chip cookie is available to all, no matter your age.–MR   Last Sunday morning, my son James said, “Dad, what if you made a bowl out of cookie dough?” I’m the first to admit that there are almost no truly new culinary innovations or ideas, only variations on what’s come before us, and I also know that making Read On »

Classic Sauce: Creme Anglaise

Came across this post from April 2013, on spoons, spatulas and the classic creme Anglaise. Has anything changed? I honestly don’t know.–M.R. The television personality and cookbook author Ted Allen stirred up a shit storm this week by calling me out on my hatred of the round wooden spoon, which he apparently has the hots for. He happened to mention our exchange at a City Harvest event to Eric Ripert, executive chef of Le Bernardin, one of the finest restaurants in the country, with whom I’ve worked closely, who added a little more caca to the pot by tweeting “Crème anglaise? Since the days of Escoffier, stir with a wood spoon, Ruhlman.” He then phoned me to further faire caca into my cell phone until he conceded that it was the wood, not a round Read On »

Make Your Own Mayo

  Thinking of the miraculous egg this morning and wanted to repost this on mayonnaise, hoping to encourage those who don’t ever make it to give it a shot. It’s one of those foods that you can’t buy—nothing is like homemade mayonnaise.   Originally posted on May 21, 2008 Finishing up the revisions of a manuscript and going over some fat-based sauces has returned me to the mayonnaise. Like the popover, it’s the story of a great transformation. Yolk, lemon juice, salt, and oil.   There simply isn’t anything like it when you make it yourself—you can’t buy this stuff. But I’ll bet you have everything you need to make it right now. I’ll include a recipe at the end of this post.     Two things are critical to remember for those who have Read On »

Derby Day Mint Julep

It’s the Derby weekend so herewith, again, my preferred method for making a great mint julep with a truly minty, clean taste and a color that announces what it is. You can use either a blender or a mortar and pestle (I prefer the latter for the mintiest flavor, pix and recipe here). Of course, I’m still fond of my first julep(s) made by still my dearest pal, Blake Bailey, and the story surrounding it. Blake was initially too mortified to be named at the time, but since he wrote about the event in his searing memoir, The Splendid Things We Planned, the story is out. Happy Derby Day, all! (And don’t forget to have a look at my newest book, How to Saute: Foolproof Techniques and Recipes For the Home Cook. And feel free to enter the Read On »

How To Saute

My new book publishes tomorrow and Little Brown is giving away the whole set (which includes How To Roast and How To Braise). Enter here for your chance to win—today’s the last day. Or order now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or from Indiebound. People familiar with my work know my conviction that mastering a single technique is better than having a hundred recipes. So I’ve devoted these short books to the finer points of the critical techniques. Sauté is the most used of all techniques and the nuances of it are many. Whether it’s in the preparing of veal scallopine, a classical poulet sauté, shrimp, or a flatiron steak, each sauté is a little different. I discuss types of pans, cooking tools, cooking fats, the critical herbs and aromatics that are most valuable in sautéing, Read On »