Miela Tahril

Tomorrow we'll be doing a little experiment involving this incredibly delicious swordfish preparation. I didn't film the making of the dish, but when I went to serve it, I decided it was too good not to share, so the plating was captured in all it's brief, but beautiful glory. Will I still be able to "teach" you the recipe? Stay tun...

My friends at Goodbite featured this lovely grilled figs and burrata cheese video today, and since I've been seeing lots of fresh figs at the market I thought I'd re-post it. If you haven't seen it before, I hope you enjoy. If you've seen it, but didn't get around to trying it, then consider this a friendly reminder that you really, really should! The original post from last August follows:If you watch as much food television as I do, you hear the adjective "sexy" thrown around quite a bit, and...

Yes, it's that time again! The Tasty Awards are an annual awards show celebrating the best in food and fashion programs on TV, in film, and online. Last year, we won the award for "Best Home Chef in a Series," and would love to defend the title this year.If you'd like to help with the nomination, please follow this link and cast your vote. The two categories we qualify in are "Best Food Program - Web" and "Home Chef in a Series." Thank you for the suppo...

We all know our food has to look and taste good, but one of the more overlooked aspects in cooking is texture. This sandy beans recipe is a great example. Sure, a nice bowl of white beans warmed in garlic oil and topped with parsley is a fine thing, but texturally…kind of a snoozer. Here we're coating the beans with a crispy, cheesy, pleasantly gritty breadcrumb mixture. That's right; less yawn, more fawn. This was inspired by a similar trick I like to use for finishing pastas, and if there's one...

You know I love lamb, as evidenced by the various chops, shanks, legs, and shoulders I've featured in the past. These are among the most popular meat recipes on the blog, so it seems many share my love. Here we have a brand new cut to celebrate, the lamb breast.This is not common in your regular supermarkets. There's an inverse relationship between the size of the parking lot, and the chances you'll find breast of lamb in the meat case. However, a visit to a real butcher (look for lots of tats and...

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The only thing I know for sure about Carolina-style barbecue sauce is that there isn't one. The base is usually always vinegar and pepper, but then depending on which part of the state(s) you're dealing with, there are countless additions and variations.This one features fresh apple to add a little extra something, but otherwise it's a fairly straightforward, totally in-your-face with tang and heat barbecue sauce recipe. It was fantastic on a molasses-brined pork chop that you'll see in an upcoming...

Maybe it's just me, but I find time-lapse video of cooling, deflating blueberry clafouti quite calming. If you're feeling a little stressed, watch this video and see if it doesn't relax you. Enj...

I was doing some research on shrimp toast for an upcoming video, and I became obsessed with the thought of frying things on white bread, which led to being obsessed with the thought of frying things in white bread. These fried peanut butter and jelly pinchy pies are the result.The technique was ridiculously easy, but naming these delicious discs was another thing altogether. They aren't cakes, donuts, or fritters; so I was sort of stumped on what to call them. I decided to make up something completely...

A beautiful homemade mayonaisse from In Jennie's Kitchen! Photo (c) Jennifer PerilloMy friend and future partner in crime (if this food blogging thing doesn't work out, we're going to rob a bank together), Jennifer Perillo, just posted a homemade mayonnaise recipe on her blog, In Jennie's Kitchen, and was kind enough to credit me with the stick blender technique described therein. I didn't invent this great trick, but since I don't remember who did, I really have no choice but to continue taking...

As I was eating this fennel-smoked salmon recipe, I was also enjoying a baseball game on the radio. During a critical point in the game, one of the players was thrown out trying to take an extra base; a major blunder, which the announcer blamed on, "trying to do too much." I had to chuckle, since I had just done the same thing with the salmon.We've done a hot-smoked salmon video before, using a simple foil tray to hold and protect the fish, but his time I wanted something more aromatic and edible....

You've just finished grilling extra-thick pork chops, and like any good cook you're letting them rest. Not wanting to waste a nice smoky bed of still-hot coals, you take some ripe, juicy peaches, slather them in barbecue sauce, and grill them until just heated through. You serve them next to the pork, and while you eat, your guests shower you with praise, warming you like the mid-July sun. I used Michele's SFQ barbecue sauce for this, but your favorite brand or recipe should work, especially ones...

Photo (c) Average BettyHow good is my potato tot recipe? It was just chosen by Sara, from Average Betty, as her favorite in a "Tot-O-Rama" taste test, alongside versions from Chefs Michael Symon and Mark Zeitouni. But that's not the impressive part…this all happened despite the fact I don't actually have a 'tater tot recipe. Take that, chefs that cook things first!Apparently AB was so taken by my crispy onion ring recipe (posted below in case you missed what may be my best recipe of all time), that...

When I was a young boy, many summer lunches were spent at my grandparent's table, and that's where I first learned to enjoy fresh vegetables. Like every Italian family in town, they had a backyard garden, which meant an abundance of zucchini, tomatoes, and beans. This cold Romano bean salad was a staple during those hot summer months, and is still one of my favorite summer side dishes.So, there are two ways you can do this recipe. You can boil your beans, dress them and serve immediately. This technique...

I can't think of many cold sauces that are as versatile as this fresh peach chutney. Whether it's used to top a ham and cheese snack cracker, as seen in the video, or brushed on grilled pork chops, or used as a topping for vanilla ice cream (true story), this easy fresh peach sauce will help make your summer entertaining a little sunnier. This recipe is part of a series of eight snack videos I did for Kellogg's Snackpicks.com. When you click on the video player below, you'll be taken to their website...

If I had to (like at gun point) "invent" a new fusion cuisine, I'd go with "American Curry." It would combine the best of our country's classic stews with the exotic spices we associate with the cuisines of Asia. This simple, braised beef short ribs recipe is a good example of what that style of cooking could produce.I really love to eat this kind of food. Who doesn’t love a nice batch of slow-cooked short ribs, but we can get in a rut with how they're presented. That's not an issue here, as the...

Photo (c) Flickr user mylerdudeMichele and I are heading to Sonoma today for a few days of rest and relaxation. It's my birthday Monday, and I can’t think of a more beautiful spot to celebrate. Despite my rapidly approaching old age, I was able to hustle and finish a brand new video recipe this weekend, which I'll post tomorrow. Stay tun...

When I was asked by the Cheese & Burger Society to be one of ten food bloggers brought together to celebrate ten distinctive cheeseburgers, each representing unique regional flavors of some of our country's greatest food cities, I couldn't say yes fast enough. There are few things I enjoy more than a great cheeseburger.I was expecting to make "The San Francisco," but since that was already spoken for, I decided to take on "The Seattle," which was described as, "a cheeseburger generously topped...

I've been looking for a tasty way to show off this ultra-fast and easy barbecue sauce vinaigrette idea, and this almost raw succotash salad proved to be a perfect vehicle. And to think, I almost ruined it by doing it the right way. Originally, I was going to grill the corn first, and then slice the cooked kernels into the salad. As I started to prep, I took a little nibble off the end of the ear, and it was so sweet and juicy that I decided to change the plan, and go au natural.Thanks to the sweet,...

Whenever I hear people say you shouldn’t ruin fresh fish at the sushi bar by dipping it in copious amounts of wasabi-spiked soy sauce, I think to myself, yeah, but that's how I like it. Sometimes I just don't care about "overpowering the natural flavors," and this grilled yellowfin tuna with freshly grated horseradish sauce recipe is one of those times.I saw a nice piece of fresh horseradish root on a recent trip to the market, and since I love the combination of salty soy sauce and searing, nasal-clearing...

Photo (c) Flickr user mmatinsWishing you all a fun, festive, and hopefully food-filled Fourth of July! Michele and I are laying low this year, finishing up some big projects around the house. But don't worry, "all work and no play" is not something patriot Americans like us are known for. There will be enough beer, baseball and barbecue around to properly give respect to the greatest country on earth. Happy birthday America!In what's become a little July 4th tradition on the blog, here's “Stars...

I was playing around with a new brine idea for grilled chicken, and decided that since I was using cherry tomatoes and explosive habanero peppers, I'd do a little 4th of July firecracker-themed word play and call this "Cherry Bomb Chicken."Unfortunately, the sweetest, ripest cherry tomatoes at the market that day were grape tomatoes, which makes the name somewhat dubious. Never one to worry about letting facts get in the way of a good story, I decided to double down.Now I'm claiming that not only...

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