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Organic Confusion Part One

Written By: Alexandra Perez-Urbina on Monday, July 14, 2008

Is organic produce really better than conventional? Alex gives us the scoop.

A few weeks ago, I decided that I wanted to write a column about organic food, and folks, it was not easy! My kitchen instructors at school do not hold organic food in high esteem, and that is what really perked my interest in the subject. The word "organic," by itself, is somewhat misleading to anyone who understands basic science - I mean...read more

 

Forget Hell's Kitchen -The "Dish" on Culinary Instructors

Written By: Alexandra Perez-Urbina on Thursday, July 10, 2008

Chef Ramsay may have a strong personality in Hell's Kitchen, but he isn't the only Chef worth talking about.

Before entering culinary school, I did not know what trained chefs were like. I had never worked with chefs, and I don't really watch much tv -- not that I thought chefs on tv act the way real chefs do. The first instructor I met was Chef Tell. Chef Tell was the resident celebrity of the school, and was much liked by the students who...read more

 

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How to Recognize Hazardous Foods

Written By: Alexandra Perez-Urbina on Monday, July 7, 2008

An extremely helpful guide for recognizing how harmful bacteria grows on food, which foods are at risk, and how to avoid illness.

It is so easy to get sick from food, and it only took one semester in culinary school for me to become completely paranoid about bacteria and microorganisms. I guess maybe I have always been a little on the hypochondriac side. I blame it on my singing days, when a simple sneeze across the street would send me running to the pharmacy for zinc...read more

 

How to Get A Comped Meal At A High End Restaurant

Written By: Alexandra Perez-Urbina on Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Chef Alex shows us her inside method of getting great chow...for free!

In my miniscule twenty-seven years of experience, I have savored two surreal experiences: walking through the streets of Prague, and eating at a new, esteemed establishment without having to worry about the tab. For a college student -- actually, for most people -- dining at a fine establishment with little worries about the price is...read more

 

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Making Wine Part of a Healthy Lifestyle

Written By: Alexandra Perez-Urbina on Monday, June 30, 2008

Do you often consider making small changes in lifestyle to improve your health? If so, read this guide to integrating wine into your routine.

Alcohol, especially red wine, can be beneficial to our health, and considerable research has been done on the subject. Flavenoids in wine can help reduce cardiovascular events. Furthermore, the University of California-San Diego did a study that uncovered that moderate, daily wine drinking can improve liver health -- but how much is too much?...read more

 

Is It an Omelet, or Is It a Cake?

Written By: Alexandra Perez-Urbina on Thursday, June 26, 2008

Tortilla... Frittata... join Alex for some South American cooking tips.

To many individuals from Central America and up, a "tortilla" is a flat bread made from ground maize, or wheat flour, but to most Spaniards and South Americans, the "tortilla" is an omelet. The Spanish word "tortilla" means "little cake," and this is exactly what the Spanish omelet resembles. It is usually about two inches thick, round like a...read more

 

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Front Vs. Back - The Inside Scoop for Restaurant Jobs

Written By: Alexandra Perez-Urbina on Tuesday, June 17, 2008

If you're considering getting into the food service biz, you'd better read this first.

The restaurant business is no joke. Having worked in the front of the house before moving to the back gave me some interesting insight on the madness. While I was a waitress, I think that my greatest peeve was dealing with people. Sometimes I just wasn't in the mood for faking it. Waiters and waitresses represent the establishment they...read more

 

My Path to the Kitchen

Written By: Alexandra Perez-Urbina on Wednesday, June 11, 2008

The history of a cook in the making.

My road to the culinary world was somewhat indirect -- career wise, anyway. I started out my life wanting to be a musician. I played the violin from the age of ten, and I loved my instrument. Practicing six to eight hours a day was not a big deal to me -- "practice makes perfect" was engraved into my little brain, and I wanted to make it...read more

 

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To Poach or Not to Poach

Written By: Alexandra Perez-Urbina on Tuesday, June 10, 2008

You've heard of boiling, simmering and frying...but what about poaching?

Poaching is an excellent option for cooking healthy AND tasty, and wine, one of the best tools in your kitchen, could bring your dish to a whole new level! For starters, what is poaching? Poaching isn't boiling or simmering. The temperature for poaching is probably lower than most of us think: 160-180°F. At this temperature, one should...read more

 

Deglazing With Wine

Written By: Alexandra Perez-Urbina on Wednesday, June 4, 2008

The fun and benefit of deglazing food with wine (And how to deal with wine reduction).

Why do we cook with wine? The reason we use wine in food is to bring out the flavors of food. We cooks have to be careful not to over do it or be too stingy. There's no point in putting too little wine into food, since you won't be able to taste, and there's no point in putting a lot of wine into food because you won't be able to taste...read more

 

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