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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
 

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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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
 

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
 

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Smuggling Pinot

Written By: Dylan York on Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Like any good smuggling plot, this one contains trials, tribulations, and drama.

This summer my girlfriend was fortunate enough to leave the island for a month to visit her family in California while I remained in Grenada to finish a consulting project. The bonus to all of this was that this was the perfect opportunity to restock on all the things that we could not buy here in Grenada. Needless to say, the poor girl left...read more
 

Advice On the Preparation and Use of Vegetable Stock

Written By: Alexandra Perez-Urbina on Thursday, July 24, 2008

Chef Alex breaks down vegetable stock and gives great tips on making the most of it.

From organics to vegetable stock I go! Yes, veggie stock, a great way to be resourceful with little pieces of left over vegetables and peels (not everything has to go into the compost pile!). I know veggie stock may not be as cool as its meaty, collagen filled counterparts, but making a vegetable stock is a quicker process - important during...read more
 

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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
 

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
 

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