Category Archives: Tips

So You Want To Write a Cookbook

By Michael Ruhlman | Published: February 21, 2012

A collection of cookbooks. Photo by Donna Turner Ruhlman

So so so many people tell me they have a cookbook to write, asking for advice, and I almost always do my best to discourage them, with Asian delicacy and Germanic firmness, I hope. Because I believe that there are too many cookbooks out there already and the ones so often published add nothing new. So when writer and educator Dianne Jacob asked me what does define a successful cookbook, it got me thinking. She’s written an excellent post collating many, many responses from people in the industry. The responses are surprising in their diversity. The first and obvious answer is, a book is successful if it makes money for the publisher and author.  And there are many ways this can happen, meaning that a book that sells ...

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Also posted in Books, Business, Food Writing, Guest Post, Writing | Tagged , , | 31 Comments

Stress Free Key West Menu 2012

By Michael Ruhlman | Published: January 25, 2012

Beef short rib, cooked sous vide 48 hours at 140F/60C, finished on grill. Photo by Donna

It requires a certain amount of stress to cook for a lot of people. Otherwise you won’t get it done. Too much work, and therefore too much focus and efficiency to both get everything done and also enjoy yourself. You’ve got to like this very peculiar kind of stress.  Or like the release that inevitably follows. And it’s not the same kind of release as it is for the guy who, when asked why he’s banging his head against the wall, responds, “Because it feels so good when I stop.”  But it’s close. You’ve just got to have that kind of love-the-pressure, love-the-release to cook for a lot of people night after night. If you do, you can make ...

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Also posted in Food Adventure, Technique, Travel | Tagged , , , | 29 Comments

Ruhlman’s Twenty: Food Tools

By Michael Ruhlman | Published: December 7, 2011

I did two promotional videos for my new book, one a general description of the book (love that that one has a shot of Donna photographing, and one about an idea I thought people might call me out on. Even my recipe tester/organizer/overseer, Marlene Newell, had issues with this. Can food be a technique? I say it can. A technique is an action that has multiple applications. So while yes, an egg is an egg, it’s also an emulsifier, a leavener, a binder, and enricher. Therefore using an egg can be considered a core cooking technique. Knowing how to use salt, is one of the chef’s greatest assets. Learning how to think about these foods as tools makes you a better cook. Disagree? I’ve heard ...

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Also posted in baking, Books, Elements of Cooking, Food Writing, From Scratch, ruhlman products, Technique | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

Turkey Stock For Gravy: Start Soon

By Michael Ruhlman | Published: November 15, 2011

Mise en place for turkey stock/gravy. Photo by Donna Turner Ruhlman

In preparation for Thanksgiving, America's biggest home-cooking day, I'll be addressing a few of the most common issues and frequently asked questions about the basics: roasting turkey and making gravy. Friday, I'll be introducing an innovate and  in my opinion the best possible way to roast a whole turkey (it involves a dual method and resulted last year in Donna's saying, "This is the best roasted turkey we've ever had.") But first things first: make turkey stock now so that you have it on hand to make gravy. I don't know where we got the idea that a roasting turkey results enough juices to make gravy. It doesn't. And you certainly want to have way too much gravy on Thanksgiving so that you have leftovers. ...

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Also posted in aromatics, Holiday, Recipes, sauce, stock, Technique | Tagged , , , , , | Comments closed

How To Roast a Suckling Pig

By Michael Ruhlman | Published: August 1, 2011

The start of the pig roast. Photo by Joshua Kulp

Chefs Christine Cikowski and Joshua Kulp, among the growing legions who are making our food better and helping us to appreciate it more, call their moveable feast Sunday Dinner Club because it evoked a time when their families shared a long meal together.  Sharing meals with the people you love is far more important than I'd ever realized, a fact that deepens the more I cook, read, and listen to other cooks, both home cooks and professionals.  I love that spirit. Sunday Dinner Club is an unusual Chicago-based business created in 2004.  What the chefs do is host dinner parties in their home and invite people on their mailing list to attend. The mailing list has been cultivated over ...

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Also posted in aromatics, Charcutepalooza, Charcuterie, grilling, Guest Post, outdoor cooking, Pork!, Recipes, Salumi, Technique | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments closed

How To Grill Corn

By Michael Ruhlman | Published: July 29, 2011

photo by Donna Turner Ruhlman

Corn is in and with the hot weather, there's no better way to cook corn than to grill it. People have asked me what's the best way to do it? There are two basic ways, depending on what you're after. Corn today is so sweet and tender, it only needs to be heated through, so your decision is really one about types of heat to use, high direct heat, which will brown the corn giving it a grilled flavor, or low temperature, steamed within its wet husk. I like both and the above corn which we ate after a day at the beach (sigh), used a little of both. I love the appearance because it tells you how it was cooked.  If I want a really smoke roasted caramelized flavor, I'd shuck the ...

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Also posted in outdoor cooking, Recipes, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , | Comments closed

How To Cook Dried Beans

By Michael Ruhlman | Published: March 11, 2011

Christmas Lima Beans before and after overnight soak, photos by Donna Turner Ruhlman

Dried beans and salt. Dried beans and soaking.  Ask some chefs and they'll tell you add salt in the beginning and the beans will never get soft.  Some chefs have suggested that salt slows the rehydration of beans.  Others say, the slower the rehydration, the better the finished bean (fewer broken ones), so it's important to soak them overnight.  Others say it doesn’t really matter, or it depends.  One thing that is demonstrably true is that you don't have to soak your beans overnight; if you want beans for dinner, put them in water and cook them till they're tender or at least edible, no soaking, no blanching, just put them in a pot and cook ...

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Also posted in Elements of Cooking, Kitchen Tips, Recipes, Technique, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments closed

Squash Exposé

By emilia | Published: November 22, 2010

Introduce yourself to jarrahdale, kabocha, red kuri, and a few other squash.  Find interesting facts, recipes, and quick hints about these winter fruits, via NPR.

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Also posted in Article, Recipes | Tagged , , , , , | Comments closed

Thanksgiving Gravy:
Make Stock Today or Tomorrow

By Michael Ruhlman | Published: November 23, 2009

Photo by Donna

Photo by Donna

I wrote this very same thing last year: for delicious turkey gravy on Thursday, make a quart of rich turkey stock today or tomorrow. Here's what my plan is.  I'm roasting a chicken for dinner and I'll also throw into the oven two fat turkey wings  and cook them till they look delicious enough to eat.  I'll put them in a pan and cover them with water (I may add the chicken carcass—haven't decided yet.  The wings I bought weigh about 3 pounds (and cost less than $4).  I'll pour in at least that much water, probably more, enough to cover them by about an inch of water in a snug pan.  I'll bring the water to a simmer, then put the pan uncovered in the oven set low, 180 degrees or so, overnight.  ...

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Also posted in Recipes, Technique | Comments closed

Brussels Sprouts

By Michael Ruhlman | Published: November 19, 2009

Photo by Donna

Photo by Donna

How many of you thought that Brussels sprouts grew in the ground like little cabbages?  Or like me, never really thought about how they grew until you were forced to consider it?  Last Friday, Thomas Keller flew to Cleveland to promote Ad Hoc At Home, a paean to family-style cooking, and among the many things we talked about were ways people can improve as cooks, such as being more organized (mise en place!) and shopping better.  As Thomas has always said, "If you've got better ingredients than I, then you can be a better chef." One of the ingredients he happened to mention was Brussels sprouts—eat them in season.  The very next day at my farmers market, there they were. So I had to buy.  Had to. [caption id="attachment_3273" align="alignright" width="220" ...

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Also posted in TV, Vegetables | Comments closed

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