I’m a great lover of French onion soup, but for some reason, I’d never actually made it myself. I know, right? It seems silly, but really, it’s just one of those things I’d never gotten around to making.

A few weeks ago, I received a copy of Ruhlman’s Twenty by Michael Ruhlman, and the first recipe I flipped to was French onion soup. As luck would have it, I had a huge chunk of Gruyere in the refrigerator and a whole bag of sweet yellow onions had just arrived earlier in the week from my local CSA. I occasionally toy with the idea of fate, and that night, all signs pointed to my first time making French onion soup.

Before I go into the soup itself, I’d like to talk about the book, Ruhlman’s Twenty. As a food writer, Michael Ruhlman in a unique creature. He doesn’t write cookbooks, or at least not cookbooks in the way that most people consider them: a compendium of recipes. Instead, Michael produces books that help readers build skill and savvy, eschewing linear, recipe-type cooking for a more personal, thought-driven approach. He did this when he wrote The Elements of Cooking: Translating the Chef’s Craft for Every Kitchen, and when he wrote Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking. And now, with Twenty, he’s done it again.

Obviously, there are recipes in Twenty. Otherwise, how would I be posting the below French onion soup? With this book, though, you’ll find a lot more. Twenty encourages something that a lot of people are afraid of in the kitchen: thinking. So many Americans are terrified of cooking, believing they are unable to create their own dishes, which keeps then bound to recipes for the rest of their culinary lives. What Michael tries to teach his readers in his most recent book is the ability to break free of recipes, to play in the kitchen, and to embrace the creativity that should come with cooking.

Twenty is divided into 20 chapters, each outlining a technique that Michael believes is necessary for a confident home cook to master. The first thing you might notice is that his definition of “technique” is different from the standard. As he explains:

When you look at my list of techniques, you’ll notice that some appear to be ingredients rather than techniques. While they are ingredients, they are also tools, and the best tools have multiples uses. … Understanding all of the uses of a single ingredient is like pumping steroids into your cooking muscles.

So, then, butter is a tool. As is sugar. And the egg. They’re just as important as Twenty’s other, classically technique-driven chapters, such as braise, poach, and sauté. And in learning to use these tools and techniques, you will become a better cook.

It’s also worth mentioning that Michael’s wife, Donna Turner Ruhlman, has packed the book with valuable food photos that show you what you’re supposed to see when cooking. Twenty has gorgeous photos, sure, but they’re not doctored by some off-frame food fluffer. Donna’s photos are real, and they illustrate what you should be experiencing when you make a dish. In cookbooks that’s an unfortunate rarity, as many home cooks become discouraged when their finished product doesn’t live up to the sleek sheen of what they see printed next to the recipe they’re following.

So what’s the final word on Ruhlman’s Twenty? Get it. It will make a great Christmas gift for anyone who wants to learn to cook, or those that have earned some kitchen cred but want to take their skills closer to a level of mastery.

This recipe for traditional French onion soup is a perfect example of an impressive dish that really doesn’t take all that much work, as long as you’ve got a handle on a basic culinary skill – in this case, caramelizing onions. Rich and flavorful, this dish is about as simple as they come. While it takes a few hours to actually get to the eating part, the amount of actual work is minimal because the most time-consuming part is caramelizing the onions. If you’re unfamiliar with how to caramelize onions, check out this video.

Permalink | Posted in European, Recipes, Soup on Nov/Mon/2011
Post tags: baguette, butter, french, french food, gruyere, michael ruhlman, onion, red wine, ruhlman, sherry, soup, white wine vinegar
© Stephanie Stiavetti for Wasabimon!, 2011.

This week’s guest post is one of my favorite dishes, ever, made by one of my favorite people, ever. Casey Barber, of Good. Food. Stories. fame, is not only a dear friend, but one of the most accomplished home cooks I’ve ever met in my life. Nothing rattles this girl. The fact that spaghetti carbonara is her throw-together meal of desperation substantiates my claim.

Thank you, my dear, for recording this recipe for posterity.

Royal Tenenbaum decided he wanted to write his own epitaph, and so his tombstone displayed the masterpiece phrase “Died Tragically Rescuing His Family From The Wreckage Of A Destroyed Sinking Battleship.”

My tombstone, on the other hand, will probably list my recipe for spaghetti carbonara. ... Read the rest of Risotto Carbonara on The Culinary Life.

Permalink | Posted in European, Gluten Free, Recipes on Nov/Tue/2011
Post tags: arborio rice, carbonara, chicken broth, eggs, garlic, Gluten Free, italian, olive oil, onion, pancetta, parmesan, recipes, rice, risotto, white vinegar, white wine
© Stephanie Stiavetti for Wasabimon!, 2011.

This week’s post is care of Thad Jones, also known as The Boy Who Eats the Food I Cook (and occasionally cooks for me!). While he grew up in Germany, for the past few decades his parents have lived Washington DC, where he visits for Christmas every year. Below, Thad shares one of his mom’s recipes for a beefy Russian cabbage stew, the perfect dish for those of you stuck in east coast storms this week.

Also, be sure to check out some of Thad’s other recipes: Bavarian Torte Recipe, German Cucumber Salad, Hippyfied Banana Bread

When I look out the window of the plane, I can see the entire Washington DC mall spread out below me, with all its memorials dedicated to various political figures. Flying into Reagan National is one of the best routes for seeing most of what DC has to offer. The mall looks so small from the sky, but having visited my parents every Christmas over the past 18 years, I’ve learned that it takes well over a week to see most of the major museums and memorials. If you aren’t a resident, there’s so much to do, and so little time to do it. I’ve seen almost everything you can imagine exists in DC, but I never tire of visiting the Natural History Museum every year, no matter the weather.

Okay, I have to backtrack a bit. Up till 2009, the weather in DC had been mild to say the least. In fact, for a long time it felt like Bay Area weather. Sixty degrees, with wind and rain, but not much more than that. Since 2009, however, the weather pattern has changed. Storms that whip up from the gulf, full of moisture, meet with the bitter Arctic air coming down from Canada, colliding right over the Atlantic states. The end result has been intense blizzards, or as they are called here, Nor’Easters. It’s like a hurricane of snow, and it can get so bad that entire swaths of eastern states completely shut down. Airports, government, even the reliable USPS. ... Read the rest of Beefy Russian Cabbage Soup, or Shchee/Shchi on The Culinary Life.

Permalink | Posted in European, Gluten Free, Meat, Soup on Nov/Thu/2011
Post tags: bay leaf, beef, beef shanks, cabbage, carrots, celery, garlic, lentils, onions, paprika, potatoes, russia, soup, sour cream, stew, thad, thyme, tomato, tomato sauce, turnips, washington dc, winter
© Stephanie Stiavetti for Wasabimon!, 2011.

I remember walking down a narrow cobblestone street in Florence, Italy, perusing the menus of the little sidewalk cafes that were just beginning to lay out the tablecloths for dinner service. The light had turned a deeper shade of blue, reflected off the darkening sky, while a warm breeze swept down the lane and kicked up spirals of tiny spring flower petals. I examined each menu carefully, overwhelmed by choices. So many lovely restaurants, so many amazing dishes, so many smiling waiters waving me down and begging me to come inside. “Ciao signora!” They called. “Che cosa vuoi per cena?”

In Italy, diners don’t eat until late; many restaurants aren’t even thinking of opening their doors until after 7:30pm. Americans, with our somewhat earlier dining habits, are often famished by the time Italian dinnertime rolls around, and the throngs of US tourists scuttling from menu board to menu board are always fun to watch. Tired of pizza, gelato, and fried risotto balls (or arancini ri riso), these hungry mobs just want a decent sit-down meal. And I was right there with them. ... Read the rest of Crock Pot Osso Busso with Quinoa on The Culinary Life.

Permalink | Posted in European, Gluten Free, Meat, Recipes, Slow Cooker on Oct/Wed/2011
Post tags: bay leaf, beef, beef shanks, beef stock, butter, flour, garlic, heirloom tomatoes, italian food, italy, leeks, osso bucco, quinoa, recipes, thyme, tomatoes, white wine
© Stephanie Stiavetti for Wasabimon!, 2011.

Today’s French cannelé recipe comes with a story, compliments of Thad Jones. Canneles are one of our favorite snacks, and even though were trying to live clean and healthy, they occasionally find their way into our diets. What can I say? They’re well worth the sugar hangover.

Walnut brown, caramelized, creamy bread pudding, fully nomable… it’s a cannelé and it’s calling my and Steph’s names. We try very hard to resist, but I’m always the first one to give in when we’re near a certain San Francisco pâtisserie. Cannelés are super special to us since we can’t find them in the East Bay (if you know of any, please leave a comment!), so when the stars align we decide to make the journey across the bay, braving the infamous Bay Bridge traffic that generally keeps us from traveling into the city. That’s how devoted we are to these little bite sized pieces of heaven; we find them at La Boulange in Hayes Valley, just north of Market Street. ... Read the rest of It’s A Cannelé Day on The Culinary Life.

Permalink | Posted in Baking, Desserts, European, Recipes on Sep/Mon/2011
Post tags: beeswax, bordeaux, butter, canele, caneles, cannele, canneles, desserts, egg yolks, eggs, flour, french, milk, recipes, rum, sugar, vanilla
© Stephanie Stiavetti for Wasabimon!, 2011.

Is there such a thing as a quick and easy Devonshire cream recipe? This summer I’ve written a ton of posts on making Devonshire cream – also known as clotted cream – and while all have been super easy, none have been quick. What can I say? It’s a slow process, and good things come to those who wait.

But, if you need something now, waiting eight hours for your clotted cream isn’t really going to cut it. Sure, you can head down to the grocery store and buy some of the prefab stuff off the shelf, but there’s an option for making something similar to Devonshire cream that will work in a pinch. I’d recommend using this recipe if an army of old British ladies show up at your house, demanding afternoon tea on a moment’s notice. I’d qualify that as a genuine tea emergency. ... Read the rest of Quick and Easy Devonshire Cream Recipe on The Culinary Life.

Permalink | Posted in Baking, Desserts, European, Gluten Free, Recipes on Aug/Mon/2011
Post tags: breakfast, breakfast recipes, british food, clotted cream, dairy, dessert, dessert recipes, devon cream, devonshire cream, heavy cream, recipes, whipped cream
© Stephanie Stiavetti for Wasabimon!, 2011.