To make a proper pot of stew, beef bourguignon, roast chicken, chowder, bouillabaisse, coq au vin, cassoulet, or just about anything braised, slow-roasted or simmered, you’ll need to use the best and freshest ingredients you can get your hands on… but to make it out of this world, you’ll also need the proper cookware, and that’s where Le Creuset comes into play.

Le Creuset’s enameled cast-iron, round French oven is probably one of my best investments in cookware as I’ve already seen profitable returns in the form of countless [...]

checklist: le creuset is a post from: Cookinghow.com

If my kitchen were a battlefield (and sometimes it can be when I’m cooking for a crowd), then the knives would be my swords, the spatula my other weapon for mass destruction, and the splatter screen my shield of armor. The splatter screen’s fine mesh combats grease splatters and even erupting bolognese sauce, protecting the stove, kitchens walls, and most importantly, me! Those of you who’ve fried up bacon, pork chops, fish & chips, or seared meat know that what a messy and painful experience it [...]

special ops: splatter screen is a post from: Cookinghow.com

Before I decided to go to culinary school in Paris, I worked for a defense company, where I sat in front of the computer all day either in my office or down in the basement labs, which I always lovingly refer to as the dungeons. Needless to say, life wasn’t exactly all sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows, but there was something at work that always brought a smile to my face… my darling, little Bodum Chambord 12-ounce Coffee Press =) It brews a deliciously smooth cup of [...]

eye candy: bodum is a post from: Cookinghow.com

Up until last year, the only chef’s knife I used was my mom’s old cleaver that I took from home when I left for college. I can’t imagine how long that cleaver has been in the family, but it has definitely been around for at least two generations. I sharpen it every couple months and it’s still versatile enough to slice tomatoes and cut through cartilage. It even doubles as a scraper to transfer chopped vegetables from the cutting board to the pan.

I [...]

checklist: global chef’s knife is a post from: Cookinghow.com

Whenever a recipe calls for a lined baking sheet, I always turn to my trusty Silpat. It turns any pan into a non-stick surface without having to be greased down. Made in France by Demarle, these fiberglass-silicone baking mats are used by professional pastry chefs everywhere to make anything from cakes, cookies, and breads, to candy, like super sticky, yummy, salted caramels =) Back in culinary school, we brought them out to help us pull sugar since they can withstand ultra high temperatures… up to [...]

checklist: silpat is a post from: Cookinghow.com

For those special moments in time when you need to caramelize some sugar, melt a cheese topping, or toast meringue to a golden brown, you can always pop the thing in the oven, pre-set to broil, but hey, what’s the fun in that? Nothing beats a spectacle at the end of a meal quite like caramelizing the sugar on top of creme brulee with a flame torch right in front of your guests. If you really want to put on a show and play with fire, [...]

special ops: flame torch is a post from: Cookinghow.com

There’s something about getting your own individual dessert at the end of a meal that makes everybody at the table giddy. Perhaps it’s the warm feeling we get just thinking about devouring the entire thing by ourselves… or, for all of us romantics out there, we’d like to think the dessert was made especially just for us by the chef. Secretly though, on the inside, we’re just excited we don’t have to share

Thank goodness for these little individual baking dishes that can hold both [...]

favorite things: ramekins is a post from: Cookinghow.com