Michael Ruhlman's Blog, page 64

Turkey Gravy Recipe For Thanksgiving

People freak out about gravy. I don't know why. Gravy is easy as pie. Actually, a hell of a lot easier than pie. All it is, is a delicious, rich stock thickened with flour. In cooking school, they call it velouté, French for velvety. You take a great stock and give it a velvety texture. [...]

Turkey Stock For Gravy: Start Soon

In preparation for Thanksgiving, America's biggest home-cooking day, I'll be addressing a few of the most common issues and frequently asked questions about the basics: roasting turkey and making gravy. Friday, I'll be introducing an innovate and  in my opinion the best possible way to roast a whole turkey (it involves a dual method and [...]

Butter-Poached Shrimp and Grits

Just the name is inspiring: butter-poached shrimp.  Butter-poached shrimp and grits. Mmmm. Butter-poached lobster, not uncommon in French haute cuisine, was popularized in America by Thomas Keller in The French Laundry Cookbook and at that restaurant. "Lobster loves gentle heat," he told me then. It's not much of a leap for the thrifty-minded cook to [...]

The Martha Stewart Show

Martha actually laughs! I was on The Martha Stewart Show, taped Monday in front of a crazily exuberant audience, on behalf of the new book, Twenty, and I saw it myself. Lord knows what we were laughing about. I haven't a clue. You go kind of senseless when you're not in front of Martha every day, [...]

Book Tour Blessings

I hate book tours. I hate leaving my house. But years ago when I was interviewing David McCullough for my book Wooden Boats, he noted how he hears that from authors all the time and said in his typical exuberant way, and with that inimitable voice, "I love book tours!" It helps that he is [...]

Brioche Revisited

  Michael has been traveling all around the United States promoting his new book Ruhlman's Twenty.  Yesterday he had a long day in New York City where he appeared on the Martha Stewart Show.  Michael sends his apologies, as he is nursing a wicked hangover.  He returns to Cleveland today and will be appearing at [...]

Pappadams!

I made my staple Lemon-Cumin Dal the other day and while I served, Donna brought the pappadams over to the light for this photo. I always serve these Indian—what, crackers?—with dal. They add a delicate crisp crunch to the meal and an exotic (to me) flavor. If you've never served them, I urge you to [...]

Twenty in the News

There has been a flurry of activity in regards to Michael's new book Ruhlman's Twenty it is featured in today's Chicago Tribune; "20 Steps to Better Cooking".  Joe Crea from Cleveland's The Plain Dealer writes about a few of the Twenty techniques, in "Michael Ruhlman's 'Twenty' Recipes.  Russ Parson's of the LA Times has also reviewed Twenty.     [...]

Lunch with Pollan, Part Two: Hopeful Words

Dan Moulthrop, a former journalism student of Michael Pollan, interviewed the writer before a sold-out crowd at the Ohio Theater last week. I asked Dan, Curator of Conversation at The Civic Commons, a Knight Foundation project to use new media and emerging technologies to strengthen civic engagement, for his thoughts on Pollan's visit. —M.R. by [...]

Lunch with Michael Pollan:Two Words of Warning

On Monday, Writer's Center Stage and Cuyahoga Public Library brought Michael Pollan to Cleveland to speak. He happened to be free for lunch and seemed delighted to be taken to The Greenhouse Tavern (above, photos by Donna Turner Ruhlman), for a taste of fall. Pollan, who lives, teaches and write in Berkeley, CA, is tall and lanky, [...]