Ask A Chef
Many of you send me questions about your own cooking at home and although I try to answer what I can, I often have to refer to one of my chef friends for a better answer. This page will highlight some of the questions I get from you and the anwers I receive from the chefs.Here are some of the questions and answers I’ve received.
Why Does My Brie Cheese Smell Like Ammonia? I received a comment from Angie who read my post, Moldy Brie Cheese asking about some brie she purchased that looked lovely, but had an overwhelming ammonia smell. I sent her question to my favorite cheesemonger, Jack Morgan, who gave a great reply. Jack gives a small […]
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How do you keep the Wontons from getting mushy In Wonton Soup? The Reluctant Gourmet receives a lot of questions via email. Some of them I can answer right away, and others I rely on the help of some of my chef friends for answers. Remember, I am by no means a professional chef. I’m […]
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New Year’s Eve Beef Tenderloin Dinner If you are reading this holiday recipe, it just may be near the New Year so I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, full of great joy and wonderful meals. I’m looking forward to the New Year and all the new cooking techniques and recipes I will learn and […]
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Great Turkey Tips from The Curious Cook Yesterday I was sitting here listening to Harold McGee on NPR’s “Radio Times” with Marty Moss-Coane promoting his new cookbook. Harold is a food scientist and author, with a regular column titled “The Curious Cook” in the New York Times. On the radio show this morning, Harold gave […]
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New Online Cooking Classes with Ann Marie Michaels I want to introduce you to a new culinary friend of mine, Ann Marie Michaels. Ann Marie is a cookbook author, cooking instructor, advertising guru and now online cooking instructor. She is also involved with teaching families how to eat healthier meals by eating at home with […]
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Carrot Cake – A Question of Timing I received this question from Laurie Koch asking, Can I prepare a carrot cake at 8 in the morning, put it in a 9×13 pan, put it in the fridge, and then take it out and bake it at 8 p.m. at night? If not, why not? The […]
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Dazed and Confused: Smoke Point Versus Flash Point A couple of days ago, I received a question from Carla regarding cooking oils. There are tons of oils out there that are suitable for cooking, but it can be very confusing. I have certainly been confused, and Carla is, so I figured that there would be […]
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Can you reuse breadcrumbs that have already been used? Debating with friends whether you can reuse breadcrumbs that egg battered fish were dipped in if I froze it immediately and will cook with it immediately. Everyone says “no” but I don’t understand why when you can freeze raw egg, freeze raw meat and no bacteria […]
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Why Does My Fish Stick To The Pan? A while ago I had quite a lengthy discussion of how to properly pan fry or saute fish to prevent it from sticking. There was so much conversation about it that I thought it would make a good article. I think we’ve all experienced that awful feeling […]
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Seizing Ganache Some of you may not be that familiar with “ganache”. I know I wasn’t until I became friends with Pastry Chef Jenni Field and she started teaching me about various baking techniques and how some of my recipes call for ganache and I didn’t even know it. See Chocolate Pudding Recipe Italian Style […]
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