http://www.chefgui.com a food blog by chef gui alinat Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:37:19 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Most culinary students try to improve their plated food presentations by adding stuff. They try to add because they think that by adding something, anything, like an extravagant garnish for instance, their plate will always look better. They think it can only add to the presentation. Unfortunately, the overall beauty of a ... http://www.chefgui.com/2010/02/09/plating-food-work-on-your-maillard-reaction/   This post is about the technique of cooking vegetables so they keep their natural, vibrant colors.  In culinary arts, the importance of color is easy to grasp. One must see a black & white photo of a dish and compare it with a nicely colored one to realize that color is ... http://www.chefgui.com/2010/01/26/plating-food-show-your-true-colors/ Look, I really like chef Colicchio. I think he's talented, has a great personality and I also like his approach to giving back. This week I posted his top 5 tips on Holiday cooking. They all make a lot of sense and you can watch them right here: Now, as much ... http://www.chefgui.com/2009/11/24/chef-colicchio-and-diet-coke/ I almost feel compelled to start with a disclaimer. Please: do NOT try this at home. I understand that if you landed on this page, most likely what you want to do is knowing how to cook a turkey. Maybe you are busy preparing for Thanksgiving 2009. Or maybe you ... http://www.chefgui.com/2009/09/30/how-to-cook-a-turkey/ Now, when I say "family cooking in Ann Arbor, MI", I really mean it. Remember the very detailed and fun post by Lynne of Lithia?.. Well, this is from her brother Horace that we get the following culinary experience. This is what the Itinerant Cookbook Project is all about. Plus, it looks ... http://www.chefgui.com/2009/09/29/family-cooking-in-ann-arbor-mi/ So far, all of the 10 cookbooks released in June 2009 in Tampa have followed interesting paths. All the participants have really brought something to the project and the Itinerant Cookbooks have already written a good part of their worldwide history. We now have cookbooks in Japan, England, France, Canada, California, ... http://www.chefgui.com/2009/09/29/lynne-of-lithia-really-starts-things-out-with-a-bam/ Today we hear from Rosie of Mount Elgin, Ontario. "I chose to make ground chicken & pine nuts in lettuce wraps from the book Easy Chinese Stir Fries by Helen Chen. The preparation of this dish went easily with Helen‘s advice on the mise en place. For the ground chicken, I boned ... http://www.chefgui.com/2009/09/29/chinese-cuisine-in-ontario/ After I posted the article "4 reasons why grass-fed beef tastes better" on Twitter, I had a few fellow chefs & foodies who had a diverging opinion. Well, we value dissent, here. Which is why I am posting the following poll. Please take the poll and don't be afraid to comment. I'd ... http://www.chefgui.com/2009/08/18/corn-or-grass-fed-beef/ Texture is the visual or tactile feel of an element. In each composition, surfaces have different characteristics and appearances. The diner perceives these differences and responds to them, as much as he does to color. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="560" caption="photo courtesy of starchefs.com"][/caption]  texture highlights (see photo above): caramelized sea scallop. ... http://www.chefgui.com/2009/08/13/food-plating-introduction-to-texture/ From Noel of Tampa, a 2nd generation participant in the Itinerant Cookbook Project: "From Helen Chen's "Easy Chinese Stir-fries" I chose to make Stir-fried Pork with Asparagus (page 44). The adventurer in me was tempted by the Flower Squid with Mixed Vegetables but I didn't quite feel up to cleaning and ... http://www.chefgui.com/2009/08/12/noel-susan-have-fun-in-the-kitchen/