Making your own wild game stock sets you on the path to mastering game cookery, but making wild game consomme puts you on the path to becoming a Jedi Master of wild game. This stuff is mind-blowing!
Cooking Basics
Curing Olives: Don’t be Afraid to Lye
Most of the olives I cure each year are done in a brine. But this year I tried curing green olives with lye. I was scared at first, but after some experiments, I’m now a believer.
How to Make Mustard
I’ve been making mustard at home for years, but until I had a conversation with another food blogger last week, I never realized that making mustard is a mystery to most. It shouldn’t be.
How to Cut Up a Rabbit
I get a surprisingly large amount of queries about how to cut up a whole rabbit or hare. So here you go: Step by step instructions, as well as a recipe for Buttermilk Fried Rabbit!
Not My Mum’s Venison Lasagna
Lasagne (or is it lasagna?). Whatever, it is a bedrock staple of my childhood in New Jersey. I grew up around a lot of Italians, and everyone’s mother or nonna made lasagna for special occasions, like Sunday night. I’ve eaten more versions of lasagna than any man has a right to. Even my own decidedly
How to Make Tomato Paste
How to make your own tomato paste, Sicilian style. Patience is needed, but if you have it, you’ll be rewarded.
Chanterelles and the Sexiest Soup Ever
Some people spend their money on gadgets, rare wines, drugs or Craftsman tools. I spend mine on mushrooms. And after eating an orgasmic mushroom soup I made with some chanterelles last weekend, I feel entirely justified in my choice. Who needs a cordless drill or a ’57 Dom Perignon when you have this soup? I’ve
Drying Tomatoes Without an Oven
“Oh my Gawd, it’s like an oven out here!” This is a not-uncommon refrain heard in Sacramento in summer. Well, if life gives you an oven, use it. This is one of the few places in the country where I can consistently dry things without an oven: Sacramento typically sees summer days over 95 degrees