Charm City Cook
Food is good
Since March, like most people, I have been hunkering down at home. A lot. Very thankfully, I like where I live and as luck would have it, I rescued a wonderful senior dog in January. My girl Magnolia is an 11 year old terrier mix, spry for her age, a little nutty and definitely attached …
At first — after the Bon Appetit scandal news broke — I was somewhat conflicted. As a middle class, middle-aged white female home cook, I was totally in their target demographic. I had always liked getting the physical magazine in the mail. I’d look through it, dog-earing recipes I might like to — and almost …
Friends and strangers alike have asked me things like, “why in the world did you scrap years of work in building an Instagram following as Charm City Cook?” or “but you ARE Charm City Cook, why walk away?” (and lots more in-depth, sometimes really awkward questions…) Here’s the thing. In the IG food world, nearly …
I’m not usually one to have very strong opinions about how a particular thing SHOULD be made. Rather, I think you should eat what you want, how you want. Except maybe for the BLT. So, yeah, I wouldn’t necessarily call them rules, but this is how I like mine. Cheap white bread. I like toasting …
If you know me — or at least the social media me — you know that Ina Garten taught me how to cook. And so did Martha Stewart, The Kitchn, America’s Test Kitchen, Mark Bittman, Julia Child and others. All white people. I never noticed that until recently, like really recently. And while they …
I’ve been trying to wrap my head around this whole quarantine thing. Trying to write something meaningful or helpful. But I just keep writing sappy notes about the places and people I miss. So, I’m going with that. I miss Old Fashioneds at Lobo and Manhattans at Peter’s Inn. Negronis at Sugarvale and Orto. Martinis …
Cooking on the fly. Riffing. Making it work. Pantry (or freezer, fridge) dive cooking is something I really only started doing once I became a confident cook. But seriously, there is so much trial and error involved, I’m not sure why I didn’t start sooner. Making something fast when you are tired, when you are …
How you like your eggs is a very personal thing. I like mine barely runny, kinda jammy. Some people can’t handle a runny yolk, some only like their eggs scrambled. Omelets, poached, quiche…the egg is a versatile ingredient. And eggs —like a Caesar salad or roast chicken — can be a good litmus test of …
The reverse sear. I first heard about a chef friend who suggested I try it. He explained with great enthusiasm how it worked and how amazing the steak would be. This was via text, as is with chefs, and he was USING ALL CAPS. So, immediately tried it and it was great, but then I’d …
