Even if you rarely cook, chances are that you do on special holidays. Whether it’s a dish to share for a Memorial Day picnic or your once-a-year perfectly roasted turkey for Thanksgiving, here are articles related to holidays and holiday cooking that you may find helpful. You’ll also find some articles exploring the history of holidays and how other cultures celebrate.
All I Want For Christmas in 2016 Each year I make a wish list of cool toys for the kitchen that I would love to find under the tree Christmas morning. It’s sort of my Dear Santa letter that I send this time of year. I’m not sure Santa is checking out The Reluctant Gourmet, […]
The Cost of Thanksgiving Dinner in 2016 Is Back Under $50 The price of a Thanksgiving meal according to The American Farm Bureau Federation is now less than $5 per person. Before you get too excited, last year it was $5.01 per person so not much of a decline but I’ll take it. Every […]
All I Want For Christmas 2015 Every year at this time I make a Wish List of some of the cool gadgets and kitchenware I would like Santa to put under our Christmas tree and hope my wife reads this post. There are so many exciting new products on the market I would like to […]
The 2015 Cost of Thanksgiving Dinner Tops $50 Once again the cost of Thanksgiving dinner is going up but not by much and for different reasons. According to the American Farm Bureau Federation’s informal price survey of classic items for a Thanksgiving dinner for 10 people is up about 70 cents from last year to […]
Looking For That Unique Gift For Your Favorite Cook? It’s that time of year again when you urgently try to find the perfect gift for that someone special who loves to cook but they have every gadget imaginable. Well, The Reluctant Gourmet is hear to help you find something new and different this year if […]
The cost of a Thanksgiving Dinner is up in 2014, but not by too much! I just read an article about the cost of Thanksgiving this year (2014) is going up but not by much. According to AP News, The price for putting Thanksgiving dinner on the table for 10 people is expected to […]
How To Prepare An Incredibly Romantic Valentine’s Day Meal Guy’s, How Would You Like To Prepare An Incredibly Romantic Meal For Your Loved One? Skip the expensive restaurant this year and treat you wife, girlfriend, significant other to a delicious, romantic dinner prepared by you right in the comfort of you own home. Forget fighting […]
My Reluctant Gourmet 2013 Holiday Wish List I’m a little late this year with my Holiday Gift Guide. I think it has to do with how late Thanksgiving was this year but here’s what I’ve seen so far and thought you might find interesting. All of these items can be found at Amazon.com where I […]
How to De-construct and Then Re-assemble a Thanksgiving Turkey I call this technique for cooking turkey “De-constructed Turkey” and adapted it from Julia Child’s The Way to Cook where she calls it “The Re-assembled Roast Turkey”. Last year was my first attempt cooking a turkey this way and it was such a success my wife […]
21 Thanksgiving Tips From Me and My Facebook Friends Every November I try to come up with a collection of Thanksgiving Tips to make everyone’s turkey day just a little bit easier. I love this holiday because it typically brings family and friends together for a big meal and plenty of catching up. For years, […]
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 […]
