Chinese Scallion Pancakes

Happy Chinese New Year! It’s the Year of the Dog (and not the Manatee), and to celebrate I thought I’d show you my take on Chinese scallion pancakes. These fun-to-make flatbreads are a common fixture on menus around here, and while they all feature the same few ingredients, they come in a variety of thicknesses, which really affects the texture. The thinner you make...

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Flaming Greek Cheese (Saganaki) – Burning For You

I usually try to squeeze in one more sexy dessert video before Valentine’s Day, but instead I opted for this show-stopping, and super-savory saganaki. What it lacks in chocolate, it more than makes up in being on fire. I know what you’re probably thinking… what about a flaming chocolate dessert? Maybe next year. In case you’re wondering, the original saganaki was not flambéed....

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Creole Crab Noodles – Mardi Gras Fusion

I’m calling this Creole crab noodles recipe an “experiment,” but it didn’t really feel like one, since I was sure it was going to come out really well, which it did. Crab, and its old friends, the Holy Trinity, are a classic combo, and so it was no surprise they worked so well in an Asian-style, rice noodle dish. If you can get fresh crab meat, by all means use that, but...

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Nipples of Venus (Capezzoli di Venere) - Keeping Abreast of the Latest in Valentine’s Day Confections

I don’t remember much about the movie, Amadeus, which isn’t surprising, since I don’t remember that much about the early eighties in general, but I do recall the famous “Nipples of Venus” scene. At the time, I wondered if that was actually a real thing, or just something made up for the movie, but since there was no Internet yet, I never found out. Fast forward thirty-plus...

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Deviled Ham is Coming Back! Start Spreading the News

Deviled ham isn’t nearly as popular as it used to be, which even in its heyday, wasn’t very popular, and that’s a shame, since it’s such a delicious, and easy-to-make spread. By the way, its decline in popularity was a major factor in the collapse of America’s steamed ham industry. Just ask any Simpsons fan. Besides providing a tasty treat, it’s always nice bringing something...

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New England Clam Chowder Dip – Because Great Soups Make Even Better Dips

Truth be told, this New England Clam Chowder Dip is actually the first soup I’ve ever turned into a dip, but I still stand by my title. After all, what are soups, if not really thin, hot dips you eat with a spoon? The point is, while this may be my first soup-to-dip conversion, it’s probably not going to be my last. I’m looking at you, Mulligatawny. I thought I was inventing...

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Philly Cheese Steak Dip – Fly Eagles, Fly

I was going to say this Eagles-inspired cheese steak dip would be great to serve at your Super Bowl party, but I just remembered we’re not allowed to use the term “Super Bowl” anymore, since that’s aggressively protected by the National Football League’s lawyers. So, instead of saying, Super Bowl, again, I’ll just say “Big Game.” Regardless of what’s printed on your invitations,...

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The “Hot Brown” – Kentucky’s Favorite Bourbon Absorbent

As I joked about in the intro, for something to be called a “Hot Brown,” and still become so wildly popular, is a true testament to just how amazingly delicious this really is. Invented at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, to help late night partygoers keep going, this hot turkey gratin may be my all-time favorite, fork and knife sandwich. And for something that...

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Chocolate Croissants – But Just Barely

I’ll admit to being pretty underwhelmed the first time I had a chocolate croissant, or “pain au chocolat,”as I’d mispronounce it; but eventually I realized the relatively sparse amount of chocolate wasn’t any kind of stinginess, but rather the true secret behind this amazing pastry. Properly done, this should ride that line between sweet pastry and a savory bread, so don’t...

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Chicago Deep Dish Pizza, or “Pizza” As We Call It In New York

The biggest problem with Chicago-style deep dish pizza, especially for a New Yorker, is that it’s called “pizza.” I’m not sure what else it could’ve, or should’ve been called, but when you grow eating thin-crust, and all of a sudden someone hands you a plate of this, with a fork, and calls it pizza, it’s quite the shock to the system. Having said that, for the home cook at...

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The Denver Omelet – Denver, Colorado, Not Denver, France

This Denver omelet was one of the first things I learned how to make professionally, during my brief, but exciting career as a short order cook in high school. So, it was a little disconcerting to learn when I arrived at culinary school that everything I had done was totally wrong. According to the chefs teaching me how to make a classic French omelet, my Denver omelet was...

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Chennai Chicken Wings – A Football Snack from the Land of Cricket

I used to do a new chicken wing video every year before the Super Bowl, but that yearly ritual stopped when I sort of ran out of things to do with them. Being from Western New York State, where chicken wings are as much a religion, as they are a snack, I didn’t want these posts to become gratuitous and contrived. However, this year I was inspired to reestablish the tradition...

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Ben Franklin Breakfast Bowl – One Founding Father’s Alternative to Fast Food

I much prefer teaching to preaching, but this time I’m attempting to do both, with the hope that you might introduce this delicious breakfast bowl into your morning routine. I’m not sure if an apple a day really does keep the doctor away, but I do know that being in the drive-thru line every morning, doesn’t. We’ve all heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the...

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