Michael Ruhlman's Blog, page 75

Bocuse d'Or—Post Game

Just returned to snowy Clevelandtown, a twenty-two hour haul from Lyon via Heathrow and O'Hare, thinking all the while on the Bocuse d'Or competition and feeling bad for Team USA, and wondering what to make of it all. "This was a tough one to swallow," Chef Kaysen wrote in an email, hours after the competition. [...]

Bocuse d'Or—Team USA's Quest For Gold

We met Team USA this morning in the Paul Bocuse commissary a half mile down the road from his restaurant. The team was finishing their mise, checking it, and checking it again. A box of Chef's Garden micro tarragon and teensy radishes had arrived, the produce in pristine condition. Commis Tom Allan prepped langoustine (they [...]

Bocuse d'Or 2011

What do culinary competitions mean in America? Reality shows on Bravo and the Food Network pitting chefs against one another have made compelling TV and earned huge audiences here, but actual not-made-for-TV competitions remain off the radar. American chefs who competed in them were relative unknowns, and the most well-known chefs, those with high profile [...]

Reynolds Price, 1933 – 2011:An Appreciation and Advice To Writers

Reynolds Price was a protean man of letters: novels, plays, memoirs, essays, criticism, poetry. Just as important, he was a teacher for more than forty years.  And he was the one who gave me, when I was 20, the tools I would need to make my way as a writer.  He died on Thursday after [...]

Challah!

When I asked my friend and primary recipe tester, Marlene Newell, who runs the site cookskorner.com, to contribute a post during bread month, a challah recipe was the first bread that came to mind, and I'm delighted it did, because I love the soft, egg-rich crumb and flavor, probably my favorite of the non-lean doughs. [...]

Gluten-Free Bread Recipe: Brioche

Please welcome friend, writer, and social media strategist Stephanie Stiavatti, who is wasabimon.com, The Culinary Life, Gluten-Free Challah, bagels, sourdough english muffins are on their way but for now, this awesome brioche, which only happens to be gluten free, though that is not it's most notable quality, as you can see int this feathery light [...]

The Truest Indicator: Awareness

I've heard so many chefs say they look for cooks with "passion," I just kind of accepted it without thinking. But I've long since stopped listening to this.  What does passion mean?  That you love to cook? That you work really hard? I have no idea, which is why I try not to use the [...]

Curry Leaf Bread

Please welcome Monica Bhide, the India-born, DC-based writer/teacher/cook, author of the blog A Life In Spice, the book Modern Spice, as well as a cool new spice app, iSpice, for iphone and ipad.  Here she gives us instruction on a flavored bread (basic breads can be flavored as easily as a pasta dish—see this recipe [...]

Classic Rye Bread with Caraway Seeds

What has surprised me most about all my breads using non-wheat grains is how richly flavored they are.  Far more than anything you can find at the grocery store.  And they all feel so satisfying to eat, the intriguing flavors and the solid bite they give. Here is a classic, deli-style rye that would be [...]

Ciabatta

Donna and I met Carri Thurman, who owns and Two Sisters Bakery in Homer, Alaska, a year ago fall when she came to introduce herself bearing bread from On the Rise Bakery and some of her own Lilac Jelly.  The day was exquisite fall and the jelly inspired a great still life from Donna. And [...]