At John Besh's demo in Aspen, the chef had to chop a lot of garlic for the nouveau New Orleans cuisine he was making. However, he had a technique for getting it minced quickly: smash it. I'm not talking about to remove the skin; I'm talking about after the skin has been peeled off. Place the garlic clove on a cutting board. Turn a large chef's knife on its side so it's perpendicular with the Read more

In my opinion, the only downside to consuming lots of garlic is having stinky breath. This mighty food adds an abundance of flavor to dishes and can help a variety of ailments putting it at the top of my superfood list. Just some of garlic's healing properties include warding off colds, reducing inflammation, and boosting immunity. What's not to love? Here are a few garlic tips and tricks: How Read more

The January issue of Martha Stewart Living has an amazing article on roast chicken. Since roast chicken is one of the most comforting meals, I've been experimenting with the enticing recipes. There's five fabulous variations, but my favorite is the one seen here for garlic-butter rubbed chicken with roasted oranges and red onions. The technique and ingredients are simple, but the resulting Read more

GirlA loves to share her vegan recipes. Recently, she posted a soothing and seasonal mushroom and garlic bisque in The Dairy Free Diva Recipe Exchange cooking group. I had a feeling I was going to like this mauve-colored soup because it not only has mushrooms but wine as well. Yep, I love it. This comes from a cookbook that I’ve recently rediscovered — I’ve had it for years. Beyond the Read more

One of the things I love the most about cooking is how you can take a couple of very simple ingredients, say butter, garlic, and bread, and turn them into something absolutely extraordinary. You may not think that the word extraordinary should be used to describe garlic bread, but when you realize that everyone has their own variation and everyone enjoys eating it, extraordinary is a perfectly Read more

Being a professional in the food industry, I'm often asked the same questions over and over again. What's your favorite restaurant? What was the most memorable meal you've eaten all year? When people ask me that one, I tell this story. I'm crazy about lamb, and one of my best friends happens to live on a farm. They not only have chickens, but her boyfriend and his brother, The Fry Bros., are Read more

When I was new to the kitchen, one of my favorite dishes to make (and eat) was classic tomato bruschetta. Now that I come to think of it, tomato bruschetta is where my love affair with all things crostini started! Since it's nice to get back to our roots every now and then, for a recent party, I whipped up a sensational batch of bruschetta. Although the recipe calls for roma tomatoes, the Read more

As much as I love sticky, sweet barbecued chicken, there're only so many times you can eat it during the Summer. That's why I recently looked for an alternative to barbecue sauce and decided to give this buttermilk-marinated grilled chicken a chance. The buttermilk, which is seasoned with lots of garlic cloves and fresh rosemary sprigs, tenderizes the chicken. The key to making this chicken Read more