Miela Tahril

Estonia Photo (c) Average BettyRemember that time you won a Taste Award for Best Web Food Program, which included a fabulous trip to Estonia, but you were too afraid to fly over an ocean, so you asked your dear friend and fellow food blogger, Average Betty, to go on the trip for you, and she had an amazing time, and when your friends and family saw the pictures they couldn’t believe what an idiot you were for not going? That’s right, I didn’t go on what could’ve been the trip of a lifetime because...

I’ve always been fascinated with Israeli couscous, also known as pearl couscous, and have received several food wishes recently for a recipe showing it off. I’ve had it most often in cold salads, but for whatever reason I decided to turn it into a hot side dish. Since it’s nothing more than tiny balls of lightly toasted pasta dough, I thought it would work well in some type of macaroni-n-cheese application. I decided to skip the traditional béchamel and instead use more of a risotto technique....

Photo courtesy of Robin Ove, from the blog, What About the FoodMichele and I just returned from a wonderful long weekend in Portland, where we attended the 2012 International Food Bloggers Conference. It was our first visit to “Stumptown,” and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay (although, I never did see even one stump). People were very friendly, and the local food scene was as vibrant and interesting as I’d heard it would be, but the highlight was the photography workshop I got to participate in...

It may be blasphemy to say that hot fudge isn’t the ultimate warm ice cream topping, but after tasting this amazing salted caramel sauce, that’s exactly what I’m suggesting. Hot fudge has a lot going for it – namely it’s hot and it’s fudge – but the way this complex, salty, slightly bittersweet caramel marries with the vanilla ice cream is a wonder to behold. Actually, I just had a thought…next time let’s use both! The procedure couldn’t be easier, but you really should be sure to use a heavy-bottomed...

Just a quick note to let you know we're thoroughly enjoying our first visit to Portland. As we'd heard, they take their food (and apparently everything else) very seriously here. The photos below are from an amazing dinner we had at Le Pigeon (sorry, cell phone shots). By the way, the foie gras profiteroles (yes, you heard me) were topped with a perfectly made caramel sauce, which will be the new video recipe post on Monday. Stay tuned! Rabbit and Eel Terrine. Peaches, Avocado, Foie Gras Miso...

Michele and I are on our way to Portland for the 2012 InternationalFood Blogger Conference. I’m going to be doing a cooking demo as part of a food photography workshop led by acclaimed New York Times' food photographer, Andrew Scrivani. As usual, you can follow my exploits on Twitter, where I’ll be posting pictures of all the deliciousness we experience along the way. By the way, this is our first time to The City of Roses, so if you have any hot tips, let me know. Thanks!The Truth HurtsSpeaking...

One of my earliest and fondest food memories is that of my grandfather making frittata. It wasn’t the taste of this hearty, Italian omelet that made such an impression, although that was always wonderful, it was the excitement surrounding “the flip.” Traditionally, a frittata is cooked about three-quarters of the way, flipped over on to a plate, and slid back into the pan to finish cooking the other side. It’s an hot, slippery exercise fraught with danger, and more than one of his magnificent creations...

As promised, here’s the tomato concasse video I mentioned during the Steak Pizzaiola recipe. The technique is relatively quick and easy, and will allow you enjoy those gorgeous summer tomatoes sans skin and seeds. If you're feeling really ambitious, you could do a few quarts, and can them for the winter. Sure, those San Marzano tomatoes are fine, but there's nothing like putting up your own. Enjoy!...

I recently heard someone call San Francisco a “granola town.” Not sure what that means exactly, although I assume it has something to do with those damn hippies. Anyway, it reminded me that we did a granola video way back in 2009 (before we were famous), so some of you may not have seen it yet. Besides, there’s no better way to enjoy that sweet, juicy, late-summer fruit than with yogurt and crunchy, homemade granola. Click here to read the original post, and get the ingredient amounts. Enjoy!...

I’ve been wanting to post this steak pizzaiola recipe for a while now, but was bidding my time, waiting for those perfectly ripe late-summer tomatoes before trying it. Of course, those have been available around here for many weeks, but every time I’d buy some, I’d quickly use them on sandwiches, salads, etc., before getting to make this great dish. Hey, a BTL can be very seductive. Well, I’m happy to announce I was finally able control my will power, and saved enough for a beautiful bowl...

Today would have been Julia Child's 100th birthday. As I recounted in the post "A Chicken for Julia," she was a great influence on me and my career, so if you haven't read the post or seen the delicious roast chicken recipe I dedicated to her, you can do so here. Enj...

They’re crusty outside and full of hot air inside. After posting that picture of the perfect popover I had in Chicago, a reader by the name of Elizzaruth left a comment to share her recipe, which she described as “stupid easy and adaptable.” She had me at stupid. Since it'd been like 15 years since I’d made them, I figured I give her formula a try, and then adapt it as needed. Turns out it didn’t need any adapting. It worked as advertised, and really was ridiculously simple. I imagine the only major...

When it comes to grilling lamb loin chops, I usually go one of two ways. Usually, I take an Italian approach, and marinade the meat with lemon, garlic, and herbs. Or to change things up, sometimes I’ll go with more of an Indian style, and use a yogurt-based marinade along with the associated aromatic spices like cumin, cinnamon, and coriander. I love both styles, but was having a hard time choosing which one to use this time. Eventually I gave up and decided to combine both into one uber-recipe....

(Left to right): Art Smith, Chris Cosentino, Jill Davie, Ilan Hall. Photo ABC As some of you may remember, last year I flew to LA for a month to help produce a television pilot for a show called “Time Machine Chefs.”Well, I’m thrilled to announce that it’s going to air Thursday night on ABC! I believe it’s on at 9 PM, but as they always say, check your local listings. Below you’ll see a trailer to get a little taste of this very unique cooking competition. Basically, four star chefs head back in...

You know you have mad opera skills when they name not one, but two recipes after you. This spectacularly colored Peach Melba was created for Victorian era opera star Nellie Melba, by the greatest chef of the time, Auguste Escoffier, who also named some thin, crispy toasts in her honor years later. This was kind of a big deal, as Escoffier was known at the time as "the king of chefs, and chef of kings." He was arguably the world’s first celebrity chef. His masterwork, Le Guide Culinaire, has over...

Can you believe it's already National Rice Pudding Day? Man, time flies. Anyway, someone somewhere decided that August 9th should be Rice Pudding Day, so I thought I'd use that as an excuse to repost this Coconut Milk Rice Pudding with Fresh Mango recipe we ran back in March. Click here for the ingredient amounts and to read the original post. Enj...

During this video, which features a rustic and deeply satisfying bacon and cranberry bean ragout, I make a joke about the great British actor Rowan Atkinson’s appearance at the Olympics. Based on all the thoughtful, politely worded comments I’m getting on YouTube, apparently I’m the only one in the world who’s not a huge Mr. Bean fan. Based on the response, I’m clearly missing something. While I find Mr. Bean more creepy than comedic, I’ve been told to ignore the movies he did for American theaters...

Okay, first things first; there’s no such thing as a “San Francisco-Style Bagel.” This gorgeous city has lots of amazing food traditions, but the bagel isn’t one of them. So, when I accidentally stumbled upon a method for making bagels that were structurally and texturally superior, I decided to take advantage of that fact, and the SF-style bagel was born. Will it catch on nationally? Highly doubtful, but that’s fine. I’ll settle for a simple wikipedia entry. Thanks to a softer, stickier dough,...

I’ve gotten a lot of shortbread requests, but haven’t done a video for it yet, since I’m not a huge fan of that particular cookie in its classic form. However, I love those little bars you see in the pastry case at the coffee shop, which feature a slightly moister shortbread base, topped with some kind of seasonal fruit. I always wondered how they were made, and then I saw this peach shortbread post on Smitten Kitchen, which looked just like the aforementioned bars. So, I adapted that recipe, losing...

If you were following our trip to Chicago via Twitter and/or Instagram, you may have seen these pictures already, but I wanted to do a quick post with links to all the great places we dined at while in the Windy (and very delicious) City. By the way, all these were taken with a cell phone, usually in very poor light, so apologies for the quality. Enjoy! Our home for the week was the very hip and happening, Public Chicago. The staff was beyond helpful, and the accommodations top notch. How cool...