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Hi Mary! My post is up!

Commented Oct 22, 2012 on Join the Food Day Blog-Along! at Mary Makes Good: Ideas for a Happily Handmade Life

Biscuits of Today moved to Wordpress in June. Please update your RSS subscriptions at http://biscuitsoftoday.com/feed/ Thanks! Meredith Continue reading

Posted Sep 26, 2011 at Biscuits of Today

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Just checked that book out from the library here in Austin, and its outstanding! She researched some very obscure recipes, and I'm thrilled this book isn't dumbed down for American cooks. It has me dying to travel to Oaxaca again.

Commented May 31, 2011 on Puro Amor: Pure Love, Diana Kennedy and Oaxaca al Gusto at Mexico Cooks!

Confronting the Meat Grinder

This month's Charcutepalooza challenge was one of the easiest yet, but I put it off until the last minute. I was intimidated by the large, old-timey meat grinder that I had borrowed, but the grinding process was so much easier and more rewarding than I imagined. You toss in the... Continue reading

Posted May 15, 2011 at Biscuits of Today

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I Beg You: Please Stop Buying Salad Dressing!

I despise bottled salad dressing. I grew up during the era of fat free Italian salad dressing, and I can remember the taste clearly: powdered onion/garlic flavor, combined with a sickly sweet undertone of sugar or corn syrup, dehyrated vegetable flakes, some preservatives and additives, all held together with soybean... Continue reading

Posted May 10, 2011 at Biscuits of Today

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Cookbook Review: Around My French Table

Of course I've heard of Dorie Greenspan. Her name makes me think of Paris, baking, and World Peace Cookies. I've perused her blog and listened to her guest appearances on The Splendid Table. I always thought of her as a baker, but her newest cookbook, Around My French Table, proves... Continue reading

Posted May 3, 2011 at Biscuits of Today

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Fridge-Clearing Sunchoke Soup with Pancetta

The most satisfying kind of cooking, for me, is to empy my fridge of scraps and transform them into something special. Recently sunchokes were calling out to me at the store, and I bought them on a whim. After almost two years of working at farmers' markets and hanging with... Continue reading

Posted Apr 24, 2011 at Biscuits of Today

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Don't Buy Tasso Ham. It's So Easy to Make!

Making tasso ham was the easiest Charcutepalooza challenge yet, but it has also been one of the most difficult items to use. It has been sitting, wrapped up tightly, in the meat drawer for over a week. I lived in New Orleans for eight years, so I don't know why... Continue reading

Posted Apr 15, 2011 at Biscuits of Today

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Minimalist Homemade Mayonnaise

All of these green spring vegetables popping up made me want to make some mayonnaise, the perfect companion to artichokes or asparagus. Even though Mark Bittman makes me roll my eyes sometimes, I enjoy his "minimalist" approach to making mayonnaise. He tosses an egg, some mustard, and vinegar or lemon... Continue reading

Posted Apr 4, 2011 at Biscuits of Today

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Pancetta is Ready!

Finally took the pancetta down from its hanging spot and sliced into it. I was terrified I hadn't rolled it tight enough, and that the inside would be a nightmare-scape of mold infestation, but it looks more beautiful than I ever imagined! But now what to make with it? I... Continue reading

Posted Mar 28, 2011 at Biscuits of Today

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Recreating the Best Pastrami in New York

Here in Austin, I've noticed that some customers go to the grocery store and get all excited about cold, water-logged Boar's Head pastrami. It pains my soul. I wonder if they don't know what it's like to go to Katz's Deli in New York City and order a pastrami reuben.... Continue reading

Posted Mar 17, 2011 at Biscuits of Today

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Six Tips for Buying Whole Fish

The first time I ate a whole fish was in Spain. I was fulfilling stereotypes that Europeans have of American female college students by refusing to eat meat (fast forward seven years later, and I'm making pancetta- who would have thought?). I spent time getting "immersed" in the Spanish language,... Continue reading

Posted Mar 9, 2011 at Biscuits of Today

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Thanks Kyle! It makes more sense to make bacon- I don't know what I'm going to do with all of this pancetta.

Commented Mar 2, 2011 on Wrestling with Pork Belly at Biscuits of Today

Wrestling with Pork Belly

So I did it. I finally confronted the slab of pork belly that has been curing in the fridge for over a week. I had cured it using a mix of pink curing salt, kosher salt, red pepper flakes, and rosemary. I used what I had on hand instead of... Continue reading

Posted Feb 26, 2011 at Biscuits of Today

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Charcutepalooza

During the last week of my job in New York I took advantage of my employee discount and bought a copy of Michael Ruhlman's Charcuterie. I had checked it out from the library before, and I had found it enthralling but also intimidating. My coworker asked, "Oh, planning on making... Continue reading

Posted Feb 19, 2011 at Biscuits of Today

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Pasta, Pancetta, and Tomatoes

I feel like I've been in limbo for the past 2 months working feverishly at a famous cheese shop in New York through the hectic holiday season, and then a week later quickly leaving New York to make the drive to Austin. So I haven't been cooking at all, but... Continue reading

Posted Feb 13, 2011 at Biscuits of Today

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Emotionally Caramelizing Onions

We've been making lots of beef stock in the crockpot. How to use it up? The first thing that comes to mind is French onion soup. Somehow it has developed a reputation of being difficult and time consuming to make. Don't believe it! Especially if you already have some finished... Continue reading

Posted Dec 2, 2010 at Biscuits of Today

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Save Your Bones for Stock!

The blustery weather has me craving soups and thinking about making chicken and beef stock. People tend to get emotional about making stock, buying three whole chickens to toss into the stock pot, but this seems like a big waste to me. Home cooks from around the world originally made... Continue reading

Posted Nov 18, 2010 at Biscuits of Today

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The King of Cheeses

That "Parmesan cheese" that comes in a green can is an abomination. How does it even get to call itself Parmesan cheese? The real Parmesan cheese, Parmigiano-Reggiano has a flavor and texture that is unrivaled by any other cheese. Parmigiano-Reggiano is an artisan product, so no two Parmesans are the... Continue reading

Posted Nov 10, 2010 at Biscuits of Today

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Plum and Earl Grey Preserves

I used to torture myself multiple times per day by reading The Kitchn, but at least one good thing came out of it— a recipe for plum and early grey preserves. Lately I've been returning from working at the La Familia Verde Farmers' Market with loads of surplus dark purple... Continue reading

Posted Sep 24, 2010 at Biscuits of Today

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Make Salsa Verde at Home

Earlier this month we went to Prune to celebrate my birthday. New York Magazine describes the restaurant's cuisine as "unpretentious American home cooking" with a bit of a seasonal farm-to-table slant, meaning there were several menu items that could be easily prepared at home. We still had a great dinner... Continue reading

Posted Aug 19, 2010 at Biscuits of Today

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Pho Bo in Only Four Hours!

Why buy a $4 bowl of pho, the deliciously aromatic and savory national dish of Vietnam, from the local Vietnamese hole-in-the-wall when you can spend four hours making it yourself? Ok, that's not very convincing. I guess there aren't many compelling reasons except I'm bored and underemployed right now (anyone... Continue reading

Posted Jul 12, 2010 at Biscuits of Today

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Why Would You Take a Thai Cooking Class if You Don't Like Spicy Food?

A few weeks ago I attended a Thai cooking class. We made Thai beef salad, a common appetizer at Thai restaurants. Our teacher taught us some secrets to cooking beef, something I don't have much experience with. It seems that you can use whatever cheap cuts looks good at the... Continue reading

Posted Jun 27, 2010 at Biscuits of Today

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Homemade Whipped Cream in Seconds

Ever since I moved to New York last year, I've been on a mission to find the best ice cream/gelato in the City. I finally got around to trying Grom a few weeks ago. I was sitting at one of their outside tables by myself, watching the swarms wandering around... Continue reading

Posted Jun 6, 2010 at Biscuits of Today

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Trout Amandine

The food I get most emotional about is probably seafood. That's saying a lot because I get emotional about most foods. Anyone who has walked around Chinatown with me can attest to that fact that I must stop and stare at the products at every seafood stall there. And there... Continue reading

Posted May 26, 2010 at Biscuits of Today

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