Rachael Ray

Today is the second birthday of my kids’ pet guinea pigs.  Who cares, you say?  I certainly don’t but my kids think it’s quite the reason to celebrate so we are having a party.  My daughter went ahead and created invitations using Smilebox, a for-fee service that allows you to create all kinds of custom made cards and invitations.  We’ve been having fun using it and it makes this sort of thing, well, easy enough for a child. Unfortunately I will be at work when my kids come home from school, so I won’t be there to join in the fun.  Last night I was too exhausted to bake the cupcakes or “bug cakes” my daughter begged me to make, using [...]...

I recently had occasion to cook a whole flock of roast chickens. I don’t know exactly why; it probably had something to do with Danit’s mentioning that she wanted it. The dish had been relatively unwelcome in my household, though not in my gastrointestinal tract. My wife is a sensitive sort, who feels bad for animals and hates any meat that looks recognizably like one. (She almost wept at Pat Lafrieda’s head-on steer roast at Meatopia. She even feels bad for lobsters. So I was surprised when she expressed a desire to eat roast chicken, a dish that not only offended her morals, but also her tastes: the biggest issue in our otherwise harmonious union derives from her inexplicable dislike for [...]...

Surprise your sweetie with some cute Valentine’s decorations. All you need is some crayons, a pencil sharpener, wax paper, card stock and some craft paper (or a couple paper bags). Tear off a piece of wax paper. Remove the label from a crayon and run it through a pencil sharpener so the shavings are distributed across the wax paper. Use one color or mix the colors if you like. Use two pieces of craft paper (or cut up pieces of paper bag) to protect the ironing board. Place the wax paper and crayon shavings on top and top that with another piece of wax paper. Take two more pieces of craft paper to protect the iron and melt everything together. I have a special [...]...

I love paprika, all kinds.  I love smoky, sweet and hot.  I love Hungarian and I especially love this one I have been using recently from Spain (I actually stole it from Rach one day), pictured here and available at Dean and Deluca: Paprika really is just dried and finely ground pepper, which can vary from sweet to hot, just as peppers do.  In Spain it is called Pimenton and you have all different varieties just as you would in Hungary, where paprika is a major export.  Pimenton and paprika are so well-cultivated in these countries that they have even started to point out the place of origin on the packaging.  See in this jar of Spanish pimenton above where it [...]...

It was Sunday night and my husband, Sumit, and I were committed to a gentle evening with a home-cooked meal. Of course we made that commitment on Friday night, it didn’t seem ambitious at the time, but then life happened and the weekend took its serial twists and turns, leaving us flat out exhausted by Sunday night. Since the promise was already out there, it would have felt flaky to turn our backs on it; besides who said it had to be a painstakingly laborious affair? When we are short on time, fish becomes our “go to” ingredient and by the time I am done singing Let There Be Love (or I Will Survive, depending on the mood), it’s done and [...]...

I lied.  This drink I concocted doesn’t remotely resemble chocolate, except maybe in color.  And I really do not like it when people try to tell me carob is anything like chocolate, because it ain’t even on the same planet. However, I made this drink this weekend just to see what it would taste like, as I had a jar of carob powder eyeing me for months in my pantry.  I don’t even remember why I bought it., it was probably part of some cockamanie diet I was trying, so of course there it sat, unopened. Finally I decided to give it a try, as I have been looking for dairy alternatives lately in an experiment to see if I am still [...]...

Dear Cleaning Lady: I have had my trusty 9 x 13 brownie pan forever and I am noticing some rust spots. Is this dangerous? Can I clean off the rust or should I toss it? Thanks! Brownie Baker Dear BB: Don’t toss the pan but definitely get rid of the rust before you bake with it again. Here’s how: 1. Rinse the pan and shake it dry - do not wipe with a towel because you want it to be slightly damp. 2. Dust it lightly with baking soda (it should stick because of the remaining water), making sure you cover the spots that are rusting. 3. Leave the dusted pans for about half an hour. 4. Clean the pan gently with a scourer making sure you get rid [...]...

Danit just told me, as I was making her pancakes, that I never have made her pancakes before. My heart just sunk. The second I gave her the pancakes I sat down to write this post. I have batter on the back of my hand. It’s funny, really, the kind of emotional disconnect there is between people who cook and people who eat. To us it’s all emotion, control, and projected appetites, mixed in with tenderness and nurturing love. To the person you hand it to, it might be all those things as well. Or it might just be a plate of food. Have you ever cooked something for someone who said they were hungry, and who then let the food [...]...

…Half the fun of discovering a new restaurant is sharing it with people you know will enjoy it. As Rachael Ray’s resident restaurant guru, here’s an inside look at what I report back to Rach about some of my favorite restaurant finds and food experiences!… From: Kappy To: RR Sent: Tuesday, January 31, 2012 11:42pm Subject: Just When You Thought You Couldn’t Miss Your Childhood Anymore… Hey Rachael - I usually like to keep my suggestions pretty affordable, but I just couldn’t NOT share this experience. Remember that restaurant in Chicago that I was talking about with you and John a month or so ago, called Next? I mentioned how they sell tickets for it and the theme and menu changes every [...]...