How to Make Greek Style Turkey Burgers with Tzatziki Sauce This week my oldest daughter Nell and I were on our own. My wife and youngest daughter were heading to Salt Lake City before heading up to Wyoming for a wedding. Nell and I dined out a couple of times but she said she […]
Just How Much Heat Is Coming From My Grill? Have you ever wondered how hot your grill gets when cooking burgers, hot dogs or steaks? I’m not talking about the internal temperature of grill area with the cover on as shown by the thermometer most grills have today. Gas or charcoal, those thermometers are usually […]
All About Double Boilers A double boiler as produced and marketed by the cookware industry is a very specialized piece of cooking equipment. A commercially produced double boiler consists of a basic two-or three quart straight-sided sauce pan and another insert pan that has a slightly rounded bottom and fits snugly into the top of […]
The Four Most Important Features When Buying Cookware I don’t know about you, but there are so many different kinds of pots and pans out there that my wife and I tend to get a bit confused when shopping for new ones. I have some old hard-anodized Calphalon and some newer stainless steel AllClad pans […]
How to Make a Great Hard Boiled Egg That Peels Easily If you like hard boiled eggs made the classic way, you are going to love the results you’ll get by preparing them sous vide. Sous vide means “under vacuum” in French and is a cooking technique in which you vacuum-seal ingredients in plastic bags, […]
How to Sous Vide Tilapia This recipe comes from my friend Chef David Nelson. He shared his version on my Facebook group, What I Cooked 4 Dinner Last Night. We are talking about two recipes here, one for the sous vide tilapia and the other for the spicy seafood broth. I say that because the […]
Finding the Right Culinary School: What to Do First Once you’ve decided that you’re ready to take the plunge and go to culinary school, there is still quite a bit of work to be done—especially finding the right school. Unless you’ve received a culinary scholarship tied to one particular school, you’ll need to consider everything […]
How Do Baking School and Pastry School Differ From One Another? Most of the time, “baking school” is an umbrella term used to describe everything related to the act of baking, including both baking and the pastry arts. After all, pastry and baking are really two sides of the same coin; each one includes a […]
How to Make Greek Style Turkey Burgers with Tzatziki Sauce This week my oldest daughter Nell and I were on our own. My wife and youngest daughter were heading to Salt Lake City before heading up to Wyoming for a wedding. Nell and I dined out a couple of times but she said she […]
Why Cooking Classes Are Great For a Child’s Development In the traditional sense, culinary schools are usually geared toward adult learners who want to start a career in a restaurant or other formal cooking capacity. However, many schools and independent culinary facilities are taking advantage of a new trend that skips adult learning altogether: cooking […]
A Real Foodie Destination In Durham, North Carolina My daughter wanted to start a new “Spotlight Town” section of the Reluctant Gourmet, where we will highlight different towns for their amazing cuisine and interesting culture and history. The first town in this section is Durham, North Carolina which happens to be where she is going […]
Making School Lunches Great Again by Nell Jones I recently came across an article written by Jane Black, titled Revenge of the Lunch Lady, about the lunches offered in public schools. The article, originally published in the Huffington Post, highlights a public school cafeteria in a small town and a woman who works towards improving […]
When Did Kale Become So Popular? by Nell Jones Kale has become wildly popular in the last decade, now available in the form of smoothies, chips, salads, and more. Some people live by it and some people just like to make fun of those who live by it. But where did it come from and […]
How to Make A Creamy Mushroom Soup My friend Paula just taught me how to make this very simple and delicious mushroom soup. When you taste it, you would think there must be a lot of cream in it because it is so rich and creamy but that’s not the case. I have enjoyed a […]
Here’s another post and recipe from my oldest daughter Nell just back from her first year in college and helping me with some posts. Although we have not seen that much of her since she’s been home, when she is, she likes to help with the cooking, something my wife and I really appreciate. She […]
What I Like & Don’t Like About My College Meal Plan by Nell Jones Lots of changes happen when you go to college, most importantly, meals. Mom and Dad’s fresh, handcrafted home-cooked meals get replaced by a meal plan. This meal plan, at least for me, consisted of swipes and points that, in combination, got […]
I'm a work-at-home dad who enjoys cooking, learning everything I can about the culinary world and sharing it with you. To learn more about me... Read More
What is Demi Glace? I am a huge fan of demi-glace for preparing classic sauces like mushroom or peppercorn sauce but I have to warn you, it is a huge process to make classic demi glace at home. It is not for the faint of heart but well worth the effort – at least once. […]
Penne Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes and Fresh Mozzarella
How to Make a Delicious Pasta Meal with Roasted Tomatoes & Fresh Mozzarella In our house we typically have a weekly “What’s On Hand” meal where my wife and I find ingredients in the refrigerator and pantry that need to be used sooner than later and prepare a pasta dish, stir-fry or Mexican fajita. This […]
Pan Roasting—the Chef’s Secret Cooking Technique One of my favorite cooking techniques not talked about in most cookbooks If I could teach you just one chef’s technique that will help you save time in the kitchen and deliver a thick cut of meat to the table with a perfect sear and juicy medium-rare throughout, it […]
