For New Year's Eve this year, my wife and I are planning to celebrate at home by opening a great bottle of wine and enjoying homemade cheese fondue. This is a basic recipe for classic Swiss-style cheese fondue that's easy to make and pretty much foolproof. Ingredients: 1 garlic clove, halved 1 pound Gruyère cheese, grated 1/2 pound Emmentaler cheese or o … [Read more...]
Chicken Fried Rice
One of my wife’s favorite comfort foods is Chinese-style fried rice. It’s one of mine, too. Fried rice is a good way to utilize leftover rice, chicken or other foods you might happen to have on hand. And, while this recipe is for fried rice with chicken, you could easily use shrimp, ham or other favorite proteins, or just make veggie fried rice. The key to success here is to hav … [Read more...]
Back to School: 5 Great Fall Cookbooks
I love the cool fall weather, in part because it gets me back into the kitchen. Autumn is my favorite season for cooking - a time when we reintroduce heartier, more robust fare and flavors and retire, at least temporarily, lighter summer menus. If you’re looking for inspiration to embolden your own cooking, here are some great new fall cookbooks to turn to. I’ve seen a lo … [Read more...]
Crab-Stuffed Spring Rolls
I love Vietnamese-style spring rolls, which are made using rice paper wrappers. They are really quite simple to make, and no cooking is even necessary. Obviously, you could put any ingredients you like into your spring rolls. So this recipe is really just a starting point. I love fresh crab, for example, but you could substitute shrimp or ground pork or just use veggies. Be … [Read more...]
Red Curry Tofu
Here is a vibrant tasting vegetarian dish with very robust flavors. Although there are a fair number of ingredients, don’t let that deter you. It’s actually a pretty simple recipe in terms of technique and time. Once you have everything prepped, the cooking is pretty rapid. My version is an adaptation of a recipe that first appeared in the New York Times. Ingredients: 14 oun … [Read more...]
Park City Chefs Headed to NYC: Utah Restaurants Showcased at Historic James Beard House
The Dean of American Cookery For those who might not know of James Beard, he was a larger-than-life force of nature. Named the “Dean of American Cookery” by the New York Times in 1954, he was a chef and gourmand who laid the groundwork for much of the cuisine American chefs create today, as well as for the way that we eat. In 1955, Beard established the James Beard Cooking Sch … [Read more...]
Grilled Mexican-Spiced Chicken Thighs
This tasty dish is based on a recipe originally from Mark Bittman, author of How to Cook Everything. Chicken thighs are so full of flavor to begin with, but when combined with Mexican spices and citrus, these chicken thighs are irresistible. Ingredients: 1 small onion, peeled and quartered 4 garlic cloves, peeled 1 Tbs. cooking oil such as peanut or canola 2 … [Read more...]
Scheff’s Table: Heirloom Caprese Salad
I love the time of summer when our heirloom tomatoes from the garden are ripe enough to eat. Because that means enjoying heirloom Caprese salads! Italy's Caprese salad - named for the island of Capri - is one of the simplest and most delicious things ever. The key to a great Caprese salad lies in its simplicity and freshest ingredients. However, people often … [Read more...]
Scheff’s Table: Cacio e Pepe
My son, Hank, works at a really great Italian restaurant in Medford, New Jersey called ITA101. Chef-Owner Kevin Maher, after attending the prestigious Culinary Institute of America, went to Italy for a restaurant internship and wound up staying in the country for 14 years. At ITA101 my favorite dish (and there are so many favorites!) is Chef Maher’s cacio e p … [Read more...]
Grilled Flat Iron Steak
Flat iron steak is a cut of beef that is very tender, nicely marbled, and is great for grilling. It’s especially good with a simple marinade made with olive oil, Worcestershire, red wine vinegar, onions, garlic, spices and a few other ingredients. Ingredients: 1 lb. flat iron steak 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper 1/8 teaspoon onion p … [Read more...]