Many people wonder what is in the secret sauce of a McDonald’s Big Mac sandwich. Others figure they know exactly what is in the sauce: ketchup, mayonnaise, and mustard. Still others figure it’s just a doctored-up Thousand Island dressing. They are not far off, except for the ketchup. The actual ingredients in the special sauce … Read more
The word puttanesca refers to an Italian sauce dating back to the early 1900s and composed of tomatoes, black olives, capers, anchovies, and garlic. Alla puttanesca is used to refer to a pasta or any other food that is served with this sauce. This bold and briny sauce is easy to prepare but offers lots … Read more
You may have heard of rice flour. It’s used to make, for example, dumpling wrappers in Asian cooking, which are steamed rice sheets. But, you wouldn’t want to confuse regular rice flour with sticky rice flour! Sticky rice flour is used to make dumplings, but it’s also responsible for those chewy, sweet, and addictive desserts … Read more
The most famous French dish that uses the term ‘au poivre’ is Steak Au Poivre. It means steak with a whole lot of poivre! In this term, ‘au’ is a preposition that means ‘with’ or ‘in the manner of’ and poivre means black pepper. A dish that is ‘au poivre’ is a dish with pepper, … Read more
Galaktoboureko is an irresistible Greek dessert with ancient origins. A filled phyllo tart or custard pie covered with a scented syrup, it is generally served cold and enjoyed during the summer. Galaktoboureko consists of a flaky phyllo dough on top and bottom that is filled with a custard made with butter, eggs, milk, semolina, and … Read more
Funeral Potatoes are a cheesy casserole of potatoes that seems to have originated in Utah. This dish is all but expected at post-funeral meals and is also used during religious events or holidays. I have a friend, whose family is Mormon, that makes these potatoes every Thanksgiving, although I did not, at first, realize the … Read more