Rachael Ray

Some people are soup crazy. It could account for two thirds of what they eat in a day. I was never one of those. In our family, us girls are called ‘the solid sort’  (well-rounded around the edges if you know what I mean), and solid girls need solid fare – roast chickens, mashed-potatoes, sautéed veggies, curries and rice. I was just never one to fill myself on aromatized water with bits floating around. That was until I moved to the USA and made my acquaintance with The Chowder. It was a soup made for people like me who are looking for mouth-feel, something to chew in to and  a soup that can actually take-on a hungry appetite. Hearty and chunky This [...]...

Last night, my day’s lack of integrity caught up with me. My sluggish vibes took over my writing assignments and even the day was calling it ‘a day’.  To top it off, I was about to dial a pizza for dinner but then realized that I was giving myself just one more reason to beat myself –up tomorrow.  I got up to cook. Foraging around in my fridge and freezer, there was very little but frozen shrimp and some rock solid brioche  slices. My husband always teases me for being miserly when I freeze left over bread (lessons from my grandmother and later from my mother-in-law)– well, here’s my ‘told you so’ moment, you really just never know when these ingredients [...]...

Once a week in my home, I would walk in to see my mother undertake what I would call the ‘onion marathon’. One counter hosted a super-sized sack of vidalia onions, a bucket filled with onions scraps, another containing peeled whole onions and a third containing fine-diced onions. These diced onions waited in line for their ultimate end – to be thrown in to a vat and sautéed until richly caramelized. They were cooled and then frozen. Then there was the ginger and garlic. This is where my grandmother perched herself as she scraped away the skin of several pounds of ginger with a spoon – a peeler’s wasteful ways just would not do! These were then separately broken down in [...]...

2 days to V-Day so start priming. Be different this Thursday. Trackie bum loyalists - give those contours a little exposure! And for those of you who dress to the nines everyday, loosen-up - perhaps an over-sized sweater to curl up by the fireplace might be nice. Dare and declare to be different this valentines day – the results will be smoldering. John.Karakatsanis Another place to add some jazz for the night is in your valentines day spread. I don’t know about you, but this is where I get really predictable. There is always some kind of overtly gooey chocolate cake. Whilst it tastes great, where is the element of surprise? How about a valentines day filled with the unexpected layer after [...]...

Too heavy, too rich, way too spicy. These are just some of the comments you hear when people talk of Indian food. In all fairness, the assessment isn’t completely way off base. We order our favorite dishes on the menu but don’t think through how they work together in terms of  ‘balance of flavors, textures and fat’. I for one am certainly guilty. Greedily picking dishes with three stars next to them (ratings for chili levels), my ‘snap’ seeking palate is very quickly put in its place with more than I can handle. As I headed over to New Yorks latest Indian culinary find ‘Moti-Mahal Delux’, I was given a re-education.  Gaurav Anand, restaurateur of NYC’s three leading Indian restaurants, one [...]...

Sunday, as in SUPER BOWL SUNDAY, is just around the corner. Somehow, this sport made the transition to the ‘festive holiday’ category. We barely packed away the Christmas tree and now sports memorabilia of all sorts are being pulled out and grocery lists adhese to the refrigerator door. Friends and family will congregate and will then be immobilized for the rest of the day. Focus is in full force amongst spectators and if you’re at my house, idol chitchat is forbidden in fear of being ‘unlucky’. Of course food is on the agenda. In fact it makes a massive contribution to the day. Since emotions runs high and low, it appears that only the spiciest varieties can stand up to the [...]...

He gently intermingled at the Indian Food Festival party last November. So polite, so humble giving great honor to those he spoke with. I knew him as an artist in my adolescent years starring as a lead in some of Bollywood’s blockbuster hits. His name is Chandrachur Singh, actor and grandson of the Maharaja of Orissa. Growing-up in his royal household in Rajasthan, Chandrachur shared with me how the royal families all over India distinguished themselves from one another through art, music and food. Particularly where food is concerned, royal men and women were passionate and hands-on with the ins and outs of kitchen life. Photo by Navroop Semhi Chandrachur is from Rajasthan , a state known as ‘the land of the kings’ [...]...

There it sat, growing older and harder. When I bought the loaf, it was in great form – full of vitality and springiness at the slightest touch. That was then. Now four days later, the knife had to wrestle its way through. If a knife had to work that hard, just imagine what that meant for the teeth. I could have just tossed it out, but that seemed unfair. Growing up, mum would give the bread a once over. If it was dry, she would make Andaa bread – French toast. Her reaction was like a reflex. But this is not uncommon, if a bread dries out, find a way to resuscitate it. If you trace back the genesis of French [...]...

My cousin Shalina always inspires me to try out new things. In London this Christmas, she made the family a tangerine cake. I am a fan of desserts and chocolates that incorporate fresh fruits for flavor – it adds brightness and compliments the sweetness. However, the biggest selling factors for me was that the cake is FAT FREE, GLUTEN FREE AND FAIL FREE (very important for less competent bakers like myself). The cake could not have been easier. Just one pot needed for simmering the clementine and a mixing bowl needed to combine the ingredients. No creaming until butter and sugar are pale (because there is no butter), no whisking eggs to soft peaks, no folding the flour. How could a [...]...