Cooking Monster

A monthly look at new words and phrases about food. Citrus Fruit Conspiracy n. A theory proposed by an Iranian official to explain how Israeli citrus fruit were (illegally) imported into Iran. “The media showcased the contraband citrus, the warehouses…

I based this recipe on something I read in a vegetarian cookbook. It sounded good, but I thought it might be even better with the addition of some country ham, but you can certainly omit it. I made the mistake,…

I made some braised spinach last night that didn’t go well with my wife. She prefers fresh spinach salad to anything that’s been cooked, even if I’m careful to wilt the greens only slightly. So I had some more greens…

A monthly look at new phrases about food.

So I managed to score just under 3 lbs of lamb shoulder steaks the other day. My intention was to grill them, so when I got home from the store, I put them in a zip-top bag with a couple…

One lucky Cooking Monster commenter will win a 10¼” Pre-seasoned Lodge Logic Cast Iron Skillet, which just might be the most useful pan you can have in your kitchen.  Just leave a comment below describing your guilty-pleasure about food —…

Don’t let your grandma’s tale of kitchen terror dissuade you from using this great time-saving device.

Well, now that St. Patty’s day is over, you can probably get an awesome deal on corned beef. I managed to pick up a 3lb corned beef for about $2, and that was yesterday. I’ll bet the prices are even…

The New York Times had an interesting article discussing how people are cooking more at home now that the economy is ailing, and that while home cooking is generally more healthy than eating out, it’s not necessarily healthier. It all…

I’ve tinkered a bit with the site design, making it so that a lot of the stuff for navigation on the sidebar, and some of the page formatting gets hidden when you want to print a particular post or the…

1   11950      Chili 9000 2.1 oz. 1/2 cup jar……………..$5.49 1   22042      Horseradish Dip 4 oz. bag…………………..$5.45 1   22642      Szechuan Pepper Salt 4 oz. bag ……….$4.59 1   31851      Oregano Mexican .4…

I took advantage of a promotional $50 gift certificate from Lobel’s, an upscale New York meat market that also does mail-order, at least 7 or 8 years ago, and I’ve been on their mailing list ever since. I have to…

The Environmental Working Group has just released their updated Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides. Based on 87,000 tests for pesticide residues in produce conducted between 2000 and 2007 by the US FDA and USDA, they list the 12 worst and 15…

So I ended up making chili con carne tonight using my new pressure cooker, pretty much just as described by Jacques in the last post. I used a course grind of buffalo meat instead of beef, and I saved the…

Ok. So I fell for it. I watched Jacques Pepin make chili con carne in an electric pressure cooker. I didn’t even know these things existed. I’d been contemplating purchasing a regular pressure cooker for awhile now. I added one…

meatza n. My friends once ate a pizza that was known in legend as “the meatza.” This pizza had no sauce, just 7 or 8 different meats piled quite high (estimated at about 4-5 inches). They then used the crust…

meatza n. My friends once ate a pizza that was known in legend as “the meatza.” This pizza had no sauce, just 7 or 8 different meats piled quite high (estimated at about 4-5 inches). They then used the crust…

This is a great side dish, or with rice, and maybe a sliced sausage or two, a main dish. You can make it completely vegetarian starting off with olive oil, and simmering with vegetable stock or water, or, if you…

Recently, the New York Times reported a new phenomenon … in an effort to save energy, some people are choosing to live without a refrigerator. The article cites that 99.5% of all households have one, and each one uses enough…

bilingual adj. Out of the types of celestial seasoning tea, the bilingual teas seem to appeal mostly to Hispanic communities. These teas are called bilingual because they mix two different flavor like banana and apple, or cinnamon and apple, or…

This video, which made the rounds on the internet a week or so ago, depicts the effects of eating a really hot pepper. the bhut jolokia, which has a Scoville rating of 1,000,000. (In comparison, the habenero has a rating…

This past weekend, we had a late family holiday get-away in the Pocono’s and I volunteered to make dinner for one of the nights, so I pulled out my recipe for Roast Beast, the same one I posted here last…

My wife found this recipe online and asked me to try making it. I’d never even heard of vital wheat gluten before. It’s used here to bind the mixture together, though I’m not sure why it doesn’t just use flour….

2½ cups lukewarm water a couple teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon yeast 4 cup  flour Combine in a non-stick pot, stir with a spatula until gooey dough forms. Put on lid, and proof at room temp for 60-90 minutes. Stir the…