Michael Ruhlman's Blog, page 81

So You Wanna Be a Chef— by Bourdain

photo by Donna Turner Ruhlman


[Note: Shuna, aka eggbeater, has covered this subject well and honestly in many posts, notably the culinary school question.  I address it in the intro to the new paperback of Making of a Chef and on my FAQ page. But when I read Bourdain's take in his most recent book, Medium [...]

Sweet Potato Fries: CSA Week 16

CSA week 16 is easily the heaviest bundle yet, with the apples, big tomatos, the (surprise!) bok choy, more nice green beans under all the lettuce.  Apples, fall is here.  Sweet potatoes, more fall.  I'm getting pretty goddam tired of those green peppers though.  Wish the dog would eat them.  I ordered eggs this week [...:]

The Best Garlic

Last weekend North Union Farmers Market put on a garlic festival, where I was lucky enough to judge a cooking contest pitting five local chefs against one another creating dishes that had to feature grilled grass-fed beef and garlic.  I was further fortunate to be seated next to Jonathon Sawyer, chef/owner with his wife Amelia [...:]

How to Grill Fish: Grilled Branzini

A confession: I'm not a great cooker of fish.  In fact, Donna hates it when I cook fish, because I usually want to put some kind of fancy sauce it.  She wants it sauteed, plain lemon, a little butter maybe.  (Yawn.) But she's usually, right—I don't cook it enough to get good at it.  But [...:]

Cherry Tomato Pizza Margherita (CSA Week 15)

Week 15 from Geauga Family Farms.  I think they're getting better—the lettuce is fresher, there's less signs of travel in the soft vegetables. As I've pointed out before, just because you grow heirloom fruits and veg, doesn't mean they're good. You've got to be a good farmer or grower.  And just because you grow excellent [...:]

The Cooking Channel

As this impromtu video suggests, Michael Symon, grows increasingly comfortable in front of a camera.  And he seems to love to do TV.  He's filmed a series of webisodes for the Wisconsin Cheese board which are actually kind of interesting (in his first, he pairs Wisconsin parmesan with shrimp; I'm curious to see how well [...:]

Ratio—Now Out In Paperback!

I'm thrilled to announce that Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking, has now been published at an enormously friendly price, in pocket-friendly flexibility.
That wickedly smart television personality, author and speaker, food guru Alton Brown, chose the book as one his Top 5 cookbooks, period: "This is a refreshing, illuminating and perhaps [...:]

How To Cook Okra (CSA Week 14)

Cool surprise in today's CSA.  Okra!  Something I almost never cook, and something that when I've had it, is cooked into slime.
The key to cooking okra is to not cook it too much.  Saute it in a tablespoon of canola oil in a hot pan, salt and pepper, red pepper flakes if you want some [...:]

Baked Buttered Corn

I posted this photo last September and was going to repost the actual post, shouting the joys of baked buttered corn, but deleted it by mistake!
So I'll have to write it again.  I thought of this post and this dish because, having endured the sadness of finding a squash in my [...:]

CSA's from Around the Country

This is week 13 of my CSA from Geauga Family Farms (my iPhone, Donna was on the road).  Very happy (green peppers went into a steak and bell pepper stir fry).  Tomato garlic basil pasta for dinner tonight, along with a green bean, onion and corn salad with a creamy lemon peper vinaigrette.  The cubanos [...:]