Rachael Ray

Sometimes, you just don’t want a full on dish for dinner. Whilst tucking in to a meal works well most nights, there are some nights you want a little freedom. Perhaps a beer and some think that doesn’t require a fork and knife. Last Wednesday was an evening like that for my husband. He wanted to chill and munch on something right form the couch. Salmon was already on the cards, only, instead of doing my Asian preparation, which involved oyster sauce and sticky rice, I decided to make fish sticks. These were no ordinary fish sticks that were flour-dredged, egg-dipped, bread-crumbed and fried. These sticks had so much oomph that he didn’t even need ketch-up or hot sauce on [...]...

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: Friday, May 10, 2013 10:42am Subject: A Meaningful Dinner in DC Hey Rach - As you know, I went from your high school alma mater’s fundraiser in Lake George to DC to visit my good friend, Jason. He’s the one I told you about - we went to culinary school together in New York and then on to hospitality school in Miami. And then? He joined the Army. He’s been around the world, most recently returning [...]...

My children attend public school in New York state, not too far from New York City, so it shouldn’t surprise me that we have a diverse student body.  But when we sent out a survey asking where the parents of the students were born, we heard of 35 different countries!  We sent the survey as part of something we call International Day-every other year we dedicate a whole Saturday to celebrating foods and cultures from around the globe. We wanted to make sure as many countries as possible were represented, so we sent out the survey and then of course asked the parents to volunteer on International Day to cook and serve foods from their native lands or ancestry. The [...]...

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: Monday, May 6, 2013 1:32pm Subject: Ramen in Wicker Park… and a Brewpub Dear RR - I know that you and I both love a good, hot bowl of soup on a cold day or night, but me… ramen is my jam! I’m not a snob about it, but I sure do love a flavorful broth with great noodles! Oiistar is a new place in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago, not far from my apartment. [...]...

With warmer weather in sight, we’re breaking out our cottons, lace and flip flops and packing away our cashmeres, wools and boots.  YEAH! But before you do that, I just wanted to share some tips to insure when cooler months return and you break out your fall and winter clothing from their summer hibernation, you don’t also find your fave cardigan sporting new holes courtesy of those flaky little pests AKA Moths! First a few facts about ‘em.  They: o HANG: in humid, dark corners and folds o COCOON: which enables them to blend into fabrics making then hard to spot o EAT: wool, fur, down, dander (i.e. dead skin from ye and Fido) o PROCREATE: they’re love machines and love to mate Regardless, the point [...]...

Four large russets. Is that is what my kitchen is being reduced to at this present moment, I thought? I looked in the refrigerator one last time, bit this was really it.  It is on days like this, that I am particularly thankful for a well-stocked pantry. My mother had trained me well.  With a full range of spices and canned tomatoes, there was no way dinner would be an after thought. One of the dishes I loved growing-up, was ‘tariwala alu’ – potatoes cooked in a  bold gravy of tomatoes and mustard seeds.  The dish uses a lot of spices from the South, with ingredients like curry leaves and black mustard seeds – benign looking black seeds that pop like [...]...

As I was multi-tasking this morning drinking my second cup of coffee with my right hand and chucking the used filter ‘n its grinds with my left, I realized that I should share some unusual uses for both these items particularly being in the spirit of Earth Day.  So here are some fab uses for coffee filters and what gives us that oh-so-important jolt in the morning.  BTW:  Use recycled filters they’re just as good and good for Mother Earth! DEGREASER:  Next time you order that greasy egg roll or bring home those fries put them in a filter to absorb the grease. DE-SERVER:  Keep those nails in tact and forget those serving dishes at your next home soiree.  Use those flat [...]...

When mom declares Sunday lunch as Rajma-Chawal – you know the mood she is creating for her home. Shawl is rice and sloshed over it is rajma, a kidney bean stew, that starts with a sauté and flows on to a lazy simmer. It is North India’s ultimate comfort dish and almost always eaten at Sunday lunch. Why? You might ask. Because rajma for dinner is a work out for the system to digest and to have stew for lunch any day  other than Sunday is indulgent. I have yet to meet a person (young and old alike) who dislikes rajma. But why would it meet resistance when the beans become buttery and soft surrendering themselves to the gravy they are [...]...

I had never been to South America before last week yet had always wanted to go - I had visions of partying all night in Buenos Aires, skiing in Patagonia, dancing on the beach in Rio and exploring the wonders of Machu Picchu, the lost city.  When I was invited to have a culinary tour of Chile, I jumped at the chance, realizing I knew so little about this beautiful country.  I asked if I could bring fellow blogger, Evette Rios and luckily they agreed!  Here are my favorite memories. Chile is a crazy place geographically speaking, as it extends over 2,000 miles down the western coast of South America, yet is only a couple hundred miles wide. The top of [...]...