Displaying items by tag: Compliments to the Chef, Paula and John Reardon

Hello my Foodie Friends!

It is amazing to think that the holiday season is here. Planning for family gatherings and meals can be a stressful time during this time of year. We strive for the Norman Rockwell experience of perfect times, perfect food and respectful conversation. Reality is for many people, family gatherings during the holidays are rarely stress-free.  I tell my Thanksgiving story every year because it is one that we reflect on and smile. Last month my Father-in-law passed away. While we sat as a family reminiscing and sharing stories, the classic story of a past Thanksgiving was told. It brought the needed tears of laughter to us. Thanksgiving would not be complete without my real-life story of Grandma and the Turkey.  It was a long time ago when our children; Johnny age 3 and Aubrey 5 months old at the time, would make the annual trek to Grandma and Grandpa’s house to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner and watch football. To begin; let me explain I am a Giants fan and so is my mother-in-law so watching the Cowboys is not our favorite thing. However, her son is and so is my sister-in-law’s husband.  Yep, two Cowboy fans in the same house and they do not like each other!  I love football so I watched but the room was silent because they don’t speak to each other.  They were holding their feelings down to make my mother-in-law happy.  My mother-in-law was busy making a huge feast for all to enjoy.  She was very nervous because she wanted everyone to get along.  We always ate after the game and this one was a tight one. Most Cowboy fans may want to stop reading now.  With just seconds left in the game, the Miami Dolphins lined up to make a game winning field goal and it was blocked by the Cowboys. The brothers-in-laws were silent. I wanted to yell but held back because of the tension.  All of a sudden one of the Cowboys (Leon Lett) chased the block field goal and touched it.  Oh nooo! Well the Dolphins got another chance and won.  Not good around Grandmas house. My mother-in-law was now really nervous that her day could be ruined.  Her kitchen was filled with many dishes all cooking at once.  There was a shout from the kitchen and Grandma announced that she had lost her glasses and could not see without them.  The brothers-in-law were pressed into service to find the glasses. These were not just any glasses; they were big and black and hard to lose but there were no glasses to be found.  We looked everywhere and Grandma was close to tears when she asked me to check on and baste the turkey.  This was a big turkey at 28 lbs. and it smelled great. 
I grabbed my son Johnny and the baster which he took charge of and opened the oven to show him the turkey.  He said “look Daddy, the turkey can see better.” Yep he found the glasses neatly melted in perfect harmony with the bird so it looked like he had eyes!  I started laughing and everyone joined in. Needless to say we had ham and lasagna but no turkey.  It didn’t matter because the rest of the day was perfect. 

Through the fun and sometimes stressful events that can happen during the holidays – especially when we want it to be perfect; it can turn out to be a wonderful family gathering. Remember, my foodie friends that “Life Happens in the Kitchen”. Among our greatest and most treasured memories are the ones that are based in the kitchen or around a meal. As you get ready this season for your festivities and feasts, stop into Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store located at 33 Railroad Place. Pick up roasters, basters, thermometers, and more for your meals. You can have that Norman Rockwell family gathering. Enjoy your family and friends. 

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

 Take Care,
John & Paula 

Hello my Foodie Friends!

Thanksgiving and the holiday season is here. It is time to start the preparations of items needed to create your fabulous feasts. At Compliments to the Chef, we have some gadgets which can make your Thanksgiving and holiday prep and serve a little easier. Good tools are essential to good cooking just like good tools are helpful to a carpenter building a house. One recommendation for a must have is a Flavor injector and there are many types. Adding some flavor can really set your Turkey apart from Mom’s recipe. 

Injecting a turkey with a flavored liquid is a good technique for producing moist, flavorful meat. Flavoring the surface of the turkey with marinades, rubs, sauces, and seasonings is also a good method for adding flavor, but flavoring the surface does not penetrate the meat. Using a meat injector allows you to inject the flavoring deep into the meat of the turkey.

The flavor injector is a syringe that has a heavy gauge needle attached to a plunger type tube. There are several holes in the last few inches of the tip of the needle. The holes allow the flavoring agent to be released into the meat of the turkey in all directions.

There are many ingredients that can be injected into the turkey to add flavor and moistness. Many variations of spiced or herbed liquids can be used, but other ingredients, such as sherry, wine, beer, flavored vinegar, and seasoned oil can be used as well. When mixing the flavoring liquid, be sure it does not include ingredients that may get may trapped in the needle of the syringe, such as herbs that are not finely crushed. If garlic or onion is to be added, it should be used in a liquid form. A little orange juice can be added to the flavoring liquid to act as a tenderizer. Do not make the flavoring too strong because it may overpower the turkey’s flavor.

How to inject a Turkey: Place the turkey in a roasting pan or any other pan large enough to position the turkey so that it is breast side up. Draw the flavoring liquid into the injector by first making sure the plunger is pushed to the bottom of the syringe. Insert the needle into the flavoring liquid and pull up on the plunger to draw the liquid into the injecting syringe. Now you may begin injecting the flavoring liquid into the turkey. The flavoring should be spread throughout the turkey with the fewest possible punctures. Begin by inserting the needle deep into one side of the breast of the turkey and inject some of the contents of the syringe. After injecting, begin to pull the needle from the breast meat, but do not pull it completely out of the puncture hole. Using the same hole, move the syringe to a different angle and again push the needle into the turkey breast to inject some flavoring in a different portion of the breast meat. Continue to inject the meat at a two or three more angles to spread the flavoring throughout one half of the turkey breast. Repeat the same process on the opposite side of the breast bone.

After injecting both sides of the turkey breast, inject flavoring into the legs and thighs in the same manner. Each thigh and each side of the breast should be injected with 1 to 2 ounces of liquid, depending on the size of the turkey. 1 1/2 ounces is sufficient for a 12 lb. turkey. Each leg should be injected with 3/4 to 1 ounce of liquid. Any remaining flavoring can be injected into the drumsticks of the wings and into the back of the turkey.

Cover the turkey and refrigerate overnight to allow the injected liquid to impart its flavor throughout the layers of meat. Remove the turkey from the refrigerator and allow it to stand at room temperature for about 2 hours before cooking. The turkey can then be cooked using a variety of methods, such as roasting, deep-frying, grilling, or smoking.

At the Reardon household everyone has a job to do including doing the dishes. Even the family dog is great for cleaning anything dropped on the floor.  My son John has taken over the job of head carver and my daughter Aubrey is our great pastry chef. Paula and I look forward to the holidays every year now that our children are older. Cherish your moments together. Stop by and fulfill your holiday culinary needs at Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store located of 33 Railroad Place, Saratoga Springs. Remember my Foodie Friends: “Life Happens in the Kitchen!”

 Take Care,
John & Paula 

Hello my Foodie Friends!

Both my wife and I grew up in Italian homes where the house always smelled delicious especially when mom was making a sauce and meatballs.  Ahhh, I can still smell and taste the wonder of their sauces and the incredible meatballs.  I can also remember helping my grandmother carry her large sauté pan that she would later fill with meatballs.  Of course, I would do anything to sneak one of these meatballs once they were done!

The sauté pan is among the most used pans in the kitchen.These wide, flat-bottomed pans have high L-shaped sides and are ideal for deep or shallow frying such as fried chicken, braising, sautéing meatballs or making Mexican rice.  It is the perfect pot for one pot meals. 

Sautéing is a form of dry cook heating that uses a very hot pan and a small amount of fat to cook the food very quickly. Like other dry-heat cooking methods, sautéing browns the food’s surface as it cooks and develops complex flavors and aromas.  Sautéing Requires a Very Hot Pan.  When sautéing, it’s important to heat the pan for a minute, then add a small amount of fat and let the fat get hot as well, before adding the food to the pan. This hot fat helps to brown the surface of the food.  Another key is to avoid overloading or overcrowding the pan.  Don’t Overcrowd the Pan.  In order to achieve the desired browning of the food, the pan must stay hot throughout the cooking process. Too much food in the pan dissipates the heat, causing the food to steam or boil rather than sauté.  Keep the Food Moving.  There’s another element to sautéing — the toss.  The word sauté actually means “jump” in French.  Tossing or flipping the food in the pan ensures that it cooks evenly, but it also helps keep the pan hot (culinaryarts.about.com).  Sauté pan options include; cast iron, enamel cast iron, and layer bonded Stainless Steel cookware.  One of our favorites is the All Clad Tri Ply Sauté pan with lid. 

The All Clad Tri Ply Sauté pan with lid is a natural choice for making convenient one-pot meals; this versatile piece from All-Clad’s original three-layer bonded Stainless Steel cookware line combines the attributes of a sauté pan and a saucier. A new capacity engraving on the base makes for quick identification, and an improved ergonomic handle ensures comfort. Tri-ply construction sandwiches a heat-responsive aluminum core between an easy-care stainless-steel interior and exterior.  The bonded-metal construction ensures fast, even heating.  All-Clad pans include a stainless-steel cooking surface with starburst finish provides superior stick resistance and won’t react with foods. These are an all-in-one pan that combines a wide base for searing and sautéing ingredients over high heat and sloped rounded sides to contain liquids and facilitate stirring when you’re simmering stews, whisking sauces or browning meats. The lid locks in moisture and heat after browning to finish cooking ingredients, either on the stovetop or in the oven, ideal for preparing one-pan meals. All-Clad pans are ideal for use on any cook top, including induction.

Having the right pan for cooking is important – especially when you do not want your “meatballs to get lost”. Stop into Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store to get those cool tools to help with making meatballs and other culinary delights. Remember my Foodie Friends; “Life Happens in the Kitchen.” 

 Take Care,
John & Paula 

Hello my Foodie Friends!

Halloween is only a few shorts days away and for the little chefs out there the excitement is building. 

In the Reardon household it was the same when we were children as it is now except back then there were only a few days a year that we were allowed to have candy and bad snacks.  My mom’s kitchen always had bowls of different kinds of fruits and vegetables depending on the season. There was never any candy, potato chips or bad snacks.  If we wanted something sweet it would be an apple or orange or tomatoes and cucumbers from the garden. Candy and snacks had not taken over America yet.   

Halloween night John 8, Danny 7, Billy 6 and Patty 5 would be almost too excited to eat our dinner, which before we went trick or treating we had to eat! Mom knew she had to prepare something we would all like and it was always her homemade chicken soup that we could not resist. We got our little bodies fueled up and were ready to take on the neighborhood. 

Also in my childhood it was a big thing to have homemade costumes and our moms worked overtime to have the cutest kids. Store bought costumes were a sign of no imagination.  On Halloween evening, the four of us would go off with orders to stay together or else.  I was told that since I was the oldest it was my job to keep a count on my brothers and sisters or I would lose my candy.  My sister Patty was always the first to run out of gas followed by my brother Billy. So we would have to get them back home and Dan and I would start out again. My brother Dan could outlast us all but my problem was that he always had to stop and admire someone’s car or truck. The Dads of these houses were always impressed that a 7-year-old knew more about his car than he did. We did manage to fill our pillow cases with lots of candy and then with tired feet head home. 

When we got home the two kings of the Foster Lake Development would brag about how much we had and how little Billy and Patty had lost by going home early.  The next two weeks were spent dipping into our stash of candy.  Some of us dipped more than others and the end result every year was that Billy and Patty still had candy left and John and Danny were out! You see while John and Danny were dipping into their stash of candy Billy and Patty kept eating the fruit and the vegetables and they forgot about the candy.  Good habits are as hard to break as bad ones. Fill up your treaters with something that will keep them warm during the chilly Halloween evening this year. Stop by Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutler store to assist with your heartwarming treats. Remember my Foodie Friends that “Life Happens in the Kitchen!”

 Take Care,
John & Paula 

Hello my Foodie Friends!

School has been in session now over a month. New routines such as school lunches, weeknight dinners, and afternoon snack attacks can put your kitchen into a state of chaos. When my children were younger and in primary school, they insisted that they bring their lunch. With mine and Paula’s hectic corporate jobs, the night before included the additional job of determining what our children wanted us to pack for their lunch. We have a new really cool item that will help with your prep – Bee’s Wrap. Bee’s Wraps are natural, sustainable and practical. The Bee’s Wrap is a natural alternative to plastic wrap for food storage. They are made with organic cotton, beeswax, organic jojoba oil, and tree resin. Bee’s Wrap is washable, reusable and compostable. Care instructions include: Wash with cool water and gentle soap, and reuse.

Here are some important facts about the Bee’s Wrap. 

CAN I USE BEE’S WRAP IN THE FREEZER?
Yes! Bee’s Wrap keeps food fresh in the freezer for 2-3 weeks. Since your wraps are naturally breathable, we recommend you check on your food after this time to ensure its freshness. Great for freezing pizza dough and baked goods.

HOW LONG DOES BEE’S WRAP LAST?
Bee’s Wrap lasts for up to a year with proper care and regular usage. You’ll know your wrap has reached the end of its useful life in the kitchen when it has worn thin and soft and has trouble sticking to itself.

DOES BEE’S WRAP HAVE A SCENT?
Yes. When you first open your package of Bee’s Wrap you will smell the beeswax. The scent will fade after the first few uses and washes, until you can no longer detect it. The beeswax scent will change with the season in which it was harvested. Beeswax carries the scent of the flowers from which the bees harvested pollen.

WHAT SIZE IS BEST FOR MY NEEDS?
There are several sizes of Bee’s Wrap; small (7”x8”), medium (10”x11”), and large (13”x14”) wraps. Bee’s Wraps are great to wrap half of a lemon, the end of a cucumber, half of an onion (Bee’s Wrap won’t hold the smell), half of an avocado, a small bowl, carrot sticks or other snack items. You can use them for baked goods, cheese, or half of a cabbage or cantaloupe. The medium and large size can be used to cover a larger bowl, pie dish, celery, cheese, sandwich, or half of a watermelon. They are also great for wrapping bread: large enough for a large loaf of sandwich bread or specialty breads. This wrap is great for covering dough that is rising, an extra large bowl or casserole dish, and also serves as a dough mat for rolling out pie crusts, cookie dough or other baked goods. The largest size is perfect for keeping a baguette fresh – it keeps the crust a little crusty and the inside soft. The Bee’s Wrap is perfect for building your sandwich, wrapping and then using as a place mat.

Stop by Compliments to the Chef located at 33 Railroad Place, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery Store, to help you wrap it up in your kitchen. We also have a great assortment of cool tools for cooks to assist you with your culinary needs. Remember my Foodie Friends; “Life Happens in the Kitchen” with your family! 

 Take Care,
John & Paula 

Hello my Foodie Friends!

Everyone has their own way of prepping garlic.  As I noted in an earlier article, I am a true connoisseur of some of our greatest movie directors and writers of past and recent decades.  One of my favorite Martin Scorsese films is “Goodfellas.”  Recently, I watched the movie again and caught a big culinary tip.  The character Henry narrates a cooking secret: “In prison, dinner was always a big thing.  We had a pasta course and then we had meat or fish.  Paulie did the prep work.  He was doing a year for contempt, and he had this wonderful system for doing the garlic. He used a razor and he used to slice it so thin that it would liquefy in the pan with just a little oil. It was a very
good system.”

Slicing garlic thin infuses garlic into the dish giving you a hint of garlic without biting into raw garlic. When cooking sliced garlic in oil, the garlic flavor will mellow during the cooking. However, you will get a flavor that is closer to roasted garlic.  This procedure is excellent for sauces and frittata’s. An excellent tool to use to get consistent and thin slices is a truffle/chocolate shaver.  The truffle shaver cuts paper thin slices of shallots, truffles, garlic, chocolate, and hard cheeses. It is made of stainless steel with an adjustable blade that allows for precision thin slices. Stop by Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery Store in Saratoga Springs to assist you with your culinary needs and to find a shaver that can help you cook garlic the Goodfella way! Here is a delicious recipe to use your truffle shaver for. Remember; “Life Happens in the Kitchen.” 

 Take Care,
John & Paula 

Hello my Foodie Friends!

Autumn is here and the cooler weather often triggers our desire for pasta. There is something about eating carbohydrates, creamy sauces, and earthy autumnal vegetables that makes the autumn season ideal for pasta consumption. No matter what they contain, fall pasta dishes must be warm, they must be hearty, and, above all, they must be deeply satisfying. My love for pasta stems from growing up in an Italian-American household where pasta was always a staple in many of the meals we had. I often times reflect on the joys of growing up with an Italian family such as: when your friends came over they were asked no fewer than six times if they wanted something to eat; Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin played in the background while everything was being cooked; leftovers were stored in Polly O ricotta containers; and, yes, we were all guilty of talking with your hands. One of my favorites is remembering when I was little, mine, and my four other siblings favorite way to help was making home made pasta with Nonni (my grandmother). After we washed our hands we were allowed to help if we were quiet and didn’t fight with each other. Very hard! The luckiest kid got to guide the pasta as Nonni rolled the pasta through the machine. Stirring her secret pasta sauce with the wooden spoon was a close second. I am certain you can visualize what the kitchen smelled and looked like during this process. Once the pasta was made, the dish created and all were seated, it was always a struggle getting Nonni to actually join the table and eat. I’ve tried to carry on these traditions with my own children. 

Making homemade pasta is a fun event to get the entire family involved with. One important tool to have when making homemade pasta is a Pasta machine. A pasta machine is used to create laminated pasta. They typically consist of two stainless-steel rollers with adjustable settings, which knead and stretch the pasta dough. Pasta machines are often sold with an additional removable cutter that creates pasta shapes such as spaghetti and linguini. There are also many different attachments available, from different-shaped cutters to attachable motors. 

Consider pasta as a meal that brings you together as a family from start to finish. We’ve learned from our older generations and teach our younger generations. No matter what you’re looking for, pasta and noodles have become entwined with culture, history, and more importantly in our lives and families. Stop by Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery Store located at 33 Railroad Place in Saratoga Springs. We carry all types of tools to assist you with making your pasta: Pasta machines, pasta drying racks, ravioli stamps and forms, pasta rollers, pastry cutters, pasta pots, and so much more.  Remember my Foodie Friends; “Life Happens in the Kitchen.”  Make those magical culinary moments happen.

 Take Care,
John & Paula 

HOMEMADE PASTA RECIPE

Yield: approximately one pound

• 2 cups flour 
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 3 large eggs

1. Combine the flour and salt. Make a well in the center and add the eggs. Gently begin to mix the eggs, gradually drawing in flour with each stroke. Eventually a stiff dough will form.
2. Knead the pasta dough for 8-10 minutes. If the dough is too dry and won’t stick together, add a 1/2 teaspoon of water. If it is too sticky, sprinkle in a bit more flour. Keep in mind this dough will be much stiffer than traditional bread dough. However, the longer you work it, the smoother and more pliable it will become. We are looking for a smooth, satiny consistency, which will develop the longer you knead.
3. Cover the well-kneaded dough tightly with plastic wrap, and allow it to rest for around 45 minutes. (This resting phase is super important, as it gives the dough time to relax. Otherwise, you’ll fight it the whole time you are rolling it out.)
4. After the resting period, divide the dough into four portions and roll into a small, flat circle.
Now comes the cool part!

HOW TO USE A PASTA MACHINE

• Rolling the dough is a process– you need to make several passes, throughout each thickness setting for the best results. Start with the biggest setting (usually 5 or 6), run it through once or twice there, then gradually adjust the settings to be thinner and thinner until you have the perfect sheet of golden pasta.
• Between each pass, fold the strip into thirds. This helps square up the edges and keeps things even. Then simply roll it through the cutting side of the machine to slice into spaghetti or fettuccine. From here, you can either cook your pasta right away (3-4 minutes in boiling water) or dry it for later.

Hello my Foodie Friends!

One of my favorite all-time comfort foods is oatmeal. My love for oatmeal began as a child. Believe it or not, I loved eating oatmeal for breakfast as a child, (mom didn’t really give us a choice). Do you remember the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears? In the story, Goldilocks tries each bear’s bowl of porridge and finally decides to eat the little bear’s bowl which was “just right.” My family started the day with a bowl of hot porridge (oatmeal) most days of the week. A bowl of hot cereal with fruit, topped with some nuts and milk gave me the energy to get through the first part of the day.

 I always had fun creating channels with the milk, the melting butter acting as lava, and sugar being the snow on my make believe village within my oatmeal. Throughout the years, my morning ritual no longer gives me the time to play with my breakfast. However, I have been able to become creative with what goes in my oatmeal. If you are in an oatmeal slump – here are some favorite toppings to try to help put some lovin’ back into your oatmeal.

Fruits, mixed berries, almond butter, and nuts are a standard item that has typically gone into oatmeal.  Try new fruits such as figs (have more potassium than bananas), or passion fruits, mandarin oranges, grapes, and pomegranate seeds (loaded with antioxidants). Chocolate (yes!) is actually a great item to put in oatmeal. Dark chocolate is not only delicious but very healthy.  Try vegetables (that’s right – vegetables) in your oatmeal.  Grating carrots, zucchini, and eggplant and nutrition, fiber, and taste to your oatmeal.  Spices such as ginger (has inflammatory properties), mint leaves, pistachios, and pumpkin seed puree’ are all wonderful additions to my morning favorite.

When making oatmeal, one of my favorite vessels to cook it in is a 2 qt. All-Clad Tri-Ply sauce pan. All-Clad has a lifetime manufacturer’s warranty. This is a perfect pan to make your favorite oatmeal in. The All-Clad 2 Qt stainless steel sauce pan is perfect for any chef, be they novice or professional it is made with a 3-Ply bonded construction with an aluminum core. The exterior of the sauce pan is compatible on all induction as well as traditional cook tops. From sautéing vegetables to finishing sauces this multi-functional pan will make a wonderful addition to your cookware or an exceptional gift.  All-Clad stainless steel pans meet the standards of even the most demanding chefs.

Breakfast is widely recognized as the most important meal of your day and oatmeal is a great way to keep your tummy feeling full and your body energized. It can also help lower your cholesterol!  Stop by Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery Store located at 33 Railroad Place for those cool tools to help you with breakfast.  Remember my Foodie Friends; “Life Happens in the Kitchen!” 

 Take Care,
John & Paula 

Hello my Foodie Friends!

This past week both my wife and I celebrated our birthdays (having a birthday one day apart from each other was one of the many reasons I married her!). Recently I found a birthday card that my mother gave me for one of my milestone birthdays. I lost my mother in 1999.  However, I think about her every day. Back to school time brings back memories of my childhood and the chaos of getting five children to do their homework, eat dinner, brush their teeth and get to bed every school night. I often reminisce about the work my mother had in raising three boys and two girls.  In many of my articles I have talked about growing up in an Italian family.  I was reminded by one of my customers that Italians are a matriarchal nationality. It’s the women who carry on the traditions and hand out the majority of discipline, wisdom and nurturing to the children. As a child, every room in the house where I grew up included constant teaching and training by my mother. The bedroom task was making your bed, dusting furniture, sweeping the floor or vacuuming the rugs and organizing your clothes.  The bathroom was to be kept clean at all times and the living room was “keep your feet off the couch”!  The kitchen was the most intense training. Washing and drying dishes to cleaning and setting the table. When we all sat at the kitchen table, our family discussions were learning times.  We shared everything from how our day went to how to pass the potatoes. We learned manners, how to hold a fork and at the beginning of the meal watching how much Mom did to prepare the meals and us for dinner.  One of my mother’s favorite cooking tools, and is my wife’s favorite, is the wooden spoon.  My mother used a wooden spoon for all of her daily cooking tasks. She would let us “taste” her sauce using a wooden spoon. There were wooden spoons for frying the meatballs, stirring the sauce and one that would sit at the kitchen table while we ate. 

At Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store, we have Tools for Cooks. Stop by and shop our line of Beechwood and Olivewood wooden spoons and instantly take your culinary, dining, and entertaining experience to the next level. The wooden spoon was a primary cooking utensil used by Julia Child and other great chefs around the world. Each of our Beechwood and Olivewood spoons are made in France where they are lovingly handcrafted to standards of unsurpassed quality. For centuries wooden spoons and wooden cooking utensils have been preferred by chefs for their numerous advantages. Unlike metal or plastic, a wooden spoon can be left in the pot without the risk of melting, burning your hand, or ruining a temperature-sensitive dish. A wooden kitchen utensil will not change the taste of acidic foods the way metal will. Wooden spoons are versatile. Simply wash your kitchen utensil with warm soapy water and allow to air dry. Restore your wood utensils to their satiny finish by treating them with a little mineral oil or beeswax compound.

As we all are working through our hectic schedules, remember that family time is the most important time. Eat together as a family, share stories, talk about your day, listen to each other, enjoy good food, and remember to compliment the chef. Bring your family together for at least an hour a day. Meal time is family time. Remember my Foodie Friends: “Life Happens in the Kitchen.”

 Take Care,
John & Paula 

Bonjour mes amis gourmands!

French is such a beautiful language to listen to. Along with the language is the food and cookware that comes from France. We have a line of cookware from a company called De Buyer. Thanks to more than 180 years of experience working with various metals such as steel, stainless steel, copper and aluminum, De Buyer is recognized as a leading brand in the creation of products, expertise and excellence in cooking utensils. De Buyer’s cookware and tools are greatly appreciated by culinary Professionals throughout the world. The company has received awards of distinction by the EPV (Living Heritage Company) and the French government. The De Buyer B Element French Collection version is made with a cast stainless steel riveted handle inspired by the Eiffel Tower. It is a beautiful and ergonomic handle. The pan is an elegant, modern pan, perfect for buffets, outdoor dining or for the table. The thick heavy iron pan is coated in an Organic Bee’s Wax finish that allows for a natural anti-oxidation protection and facilitates seasoning with improved natural non-stick properties. The pan has enhanced non-stick qualities when used for the first time. The De Buyer B Element cookware is excellent for the caramelization of food. Users tip: preheat using a little fat. Care: Season when first used. Deglaze, rinse with warm water, dry and lightly oil. Store the pan in a dry place. Do not use detergents or put in the dishwasher. The De Buyer B Element cookware can be used on all cook tops including induction.  The French Collection is a gorgeous way of getting this cookware into your home. There is also the Mineral B Element with the Riveted handle curved in French-style for easy handling and is ergonomic. As everyone already knows I am over 16% French and that is just enough to get me in trouble with their food and cookware.  I love using these pans since they are so easy to use and clean up. Their price is a lot less than you think and if you’re worried start with a small one. 

At Compliments to the Chef, we carry this fabulous line of cookware.  If you are looking for that new, different, wonderful pan for that “special culinary someone,” stop by Compliments to the Chef - Your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store and take a look at the various assortment of “cool tools” we have for cooks. Julia Childs gave some interesting advice from her book, My Life in France: “This is my invariable advice to people: Learn how to cook- try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun!” Have fun cooking with your family and friends. Stop by our store this season and find those culinary must haves. Remember; “Life Happens in the Kitchen.”

 Au Revoir,
John & Paula