World's Best Banana Bread in the Universe Ever In History!

Is that title over-doing it?  I don't think so.

Pimp My Grill - Part 1 - Charmoula

As summer approaches, the grills begin to come out in force (unless you're like some of my friends who grill even if there are 3 foot snowbanks surrounding it).  I thought I'd share grill season favorites, as well as anything I end up creating myself.

What's Your Favorite Thing To Cook?!

The question that makes every professional cook want to jump off the nearest tall building.

Why I Cook

Taking my cue from Michael Ruhlman, whom I greatly admire and who has done a great deal of work demystifying a number of aspects of the culinary universe, I wanted to share the reasons why I cook - personally and professionally. To anybody out there reading this - why do you cook? Leave a comment or shoot me an e-mail, I'd love to hear about it.

RIP Uptown Bar & Café

This is a little belated, but I just wanted to share that subject of my "Comfort Food" post, the Uptown Bar & Café was closed and demolished late last year to make room for some big shiny corporate clothing store. The Uptown was a Twin Cities landmark - damn near ALL of my favorite bands played there early in their careers. Nirvana, Wilco, Uncle Tupelo, The Replacements, The Flaming Lips, Hüsker Dü, and the list goes on. It's a shame and a sin, but it's life.

Surviving Culinary School

Lately I've fielded a number of questions from friends, readers of my blog (which is admittedly not that many people), and members of Chef's Blade about what to expect in culinary school classes. I realized that my earlier post - "Things Every Culinary Student Should Know" - was slightly jaded, cautionary, and not very constructive or proactive, so I decided to come up with some strategies for actually successfully making it through culinary school. I can't think of many fields of work that are more fun, dynamic, and fascinating than the culinary work, so I certainly don't want to scare anyone away.

On Internships

No amount of schooling will leave you even remotely prepared for any sort of leadership position in a professional kitchen; only experience can give you that. After spending more time working at restaurants as a cook than studying for class, I knew that the culinary world is where I wanted to be. I did want formal culinary training, though, so a week after dropping out of St. Olaf College after spending three years procrastinating and changing majors, I was living in Minneapolis and starting classes at Le Cordon Bleu.